


Time to Live; Time to Love

by Rihaan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Poorly written, Ron Weasley Bashing, Weasley Bashing, story? What story?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2007-01-17
Updated: 2013-04-29
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:53:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 61,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6078351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rihaan/pseuds/Rihaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry has a nightmare. As always, Hermione is there for him. And maybe he's just beginning to really wake up?<br/>I never expected this story to be so popular, and this story's loaded with problems (New Zealand, anyone?), but if you can look past that... it gets better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Early Morning Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> ATTENTION: Ladies and Gentleman, This is my first ever story, written. I feel like I should warn you of a few things before you continue.
> 
> For one, I didn't know New Zealand was not part of Australia. There are a lot of other minor errors (tense-switching), but that's the main one. There were two, and only two reasons I wrote this story. One: I wanted to see if I wanted to make writing a hobby. I answered that inquiry quite soundly. Two: To see if I actually could write. Before this story, I barely wrote much more than a 500-word essay. I never googled anything if I was confused about something, and I worked with what I had just putting words on paper and and buggering off. This was my training ground, and if I could point to two stories that helped me become a decent writer - the strikeouts before I could at least bunt the ball - it's this story and the first 5 chapters of The Deathly Hallows, Take Two. But it took a lot of errors, bad grammar and mixed tenses (a LOT of mixed tenses) to get here.
> 
> Thank you for your support throughout the years, and I will continue it when I can, but for now... I've accepted that this is a story with no plot and no real future, even when I started writing this. I'm glad a lot of you like it, but with all the crap given to me through the years for the errors, this isn't exactly on the list of stores I'd advertise. But, it's here. And I hate it when authors delete or discontinue stories I love, just because it's not up to par, and they're 'better' than that. I will probably never delete this story. After all, it's my second most popular story, and third most faved. So it's great for what it is.
> 
> But this is for all the new readers, which is why I have this posted on the first chapter - Read this with an open mind, and try to focus on the romance. That's all I ever wanted this story to be; Harry and Hermione getting together, and living happily ever after, all being well and whatnot. And, of course, I never liked the way he killed Voldemort in the end, so unlocking his potential was a priority as well. Expect a Super!ish Harry. So... if you can, enjoy!
> 
> (Another Note: No matter what you read, Hermione is beautiful. I just... really, I took her self-doubt to a whole new level, and there's a sort of contradiction in Chapter 6, I think. I'm ashamed of my words, and Hermione is portrayed as Emma Watson in this story. Not some ugly duckling. That is all.)

A boy quickly sat up in his sleep, startled, with a thin sheen of sweat forming on his raven eyebrows. He ran his hand through his equally raven and mussed up hair, which was also a little wet.

His left hand searched for his glasses while his right hand searched for the wooden stick in his back pocket. Quickly finding his round spectacles, he fumbled them on. After feeling the stick in the back of his trousers, he stopped. There was a small light in the room, so he could look around. He could hear loud snoring. He must've been in Ron's room. After one look around, he smiled. It was just a dream. A nightmare, to be exact. The amazing part about it was the lightning bolt-shaped scar on the right side of his forehead wasn't paining him, like it always was. It was a normal nightmare. The first time in a long time.

This teenager always had horrible dreams, whether they be a loved one dying, or in an immense amount of pain. No dreams of dark lords, flying motorcycles, people screaming in pain when a wooden stick, or 'wand', was pointed at them, or people getting hit by a green light and immediately fall, never able to get up again. It was just a normal nightmare, and oddly, he was grateful.

Harry Potter never had normal dreams, but then again, he was never normal. He was 5'9", with extremely untidy hair, with round, mostly always broken glasses, and also happened to be a wizard.

Even in wizard standards, he wasn't normal since he was a year old. Having the darkest wizard in centuries kill your parents on Halloween and being destroyed by his own curse when he got to 15 month-old Harry Potter, thus becoming the Savior of the Wizarding world before you even know about it, is a little bit unnatural. And just a week ago, he avenged his parents by killing that madman—something no one was ever able to do.

Harry quickly wiped his face of the sweat. He felt parched. He silently rolled himself out of the tangle of sheets and walked out of the semi-dark room, careful not to wake anyone up.

While he was walking down the hallway of the Burrow, he thought about when he woke up. He thought that shortly after, an enormous, purple-faced man would barge in and point his ham finger threateningly at him. He also half-expected to see a small, bony-faced, stuck-up woman complaining about what if the neighbors heard him. He even expected to be kicked out of the room, and sent back to live back downstairs into the horrid broom cupboard under the stairs.

But he knew better. The faces of Vernon and Petunia Dursley are in the past. The face of their son and Harry cousin, Dudley Dursley, is in the past. He would never again be forced to visit Number four, Privet Drive, of Little Whinging in Surrey. He may have made a small connection with Dudley and Aunt Petunia the last time he saw them, and may have wanted to know what they're doing now, but had no great desire to visit them. He wasn't even sure that they went back to Privet Drive, with all that has happened.

As he started walking down the stairs, he then realized that there is nothing left to do. Voldemort was gone, permanently, and Harry was still alive. He never thought past the battle with Voldemort—he never expected to beat him and live—so he doesn't know what to do with his life now. He decided at Hogwarts, the morning Voldemort was destroyed, and when he went to sleep, that he definitely didn't want to spend the rest of his life taking down dark wizards, so being an Auror was definitely off the list. At least he had Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to help him out.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice the brown, long, bushy-haired woman sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. "Harry?" she asked. He looked up and saw her, but he was facing the back of her head. "Hey, Hermione, how did you know it was me?"

She shrugged, still not turning around. "You have light footsteps."

He chuckled a little as he walked over to the sink to get a glass. "So does Ginny."

"Yeah, but you have slow, careful footsteps, like you don't want to wake anyone up. Although I don't know why you would do that. If the Weasleys can sleep through that annoying ghoul clanking in the attic, I'm sure they can sleep when you walk around."

Harry pondered this for a moment while he washed the glass, then smiled as he realized she was right. "You know me well, don't you?" he finally asked.

She shrugged again, this time with a little smile. "More than anyone else. So, what are you doing up so late?"

"The usual."

"Nightmares?"

Harry sighed as he filled the glass with water. "Yeah, but that's a good thing. My scar doesn't hurt anymore. Maybe because I'm not a… I mean… the mind link is gone."

Hermione sharply turned away from the coffee looked up at Harry. "You're not telling me something." She simply said.

"You know me a little bit too well," Harry admitted with a nervous grin.

"What are you hiding from me?"

He sighed louder than before. "Well, since it's all over, I might as well tell you the whole thing. You remember when I told you and Ron why I went down into the forest, right?"

"I don't remember you telling us why, but I remember you telling us that you went into the forest to get killed for your 'nobility' reasons, even if we told you not to," Hermione said, her voice getting slightly louder each time, but not loud enough to be heard upstairs. "I swear, what part of 'We're in this together' do you not understand?" She asked him, her voice lower, but Harry could still hear the hardness in her voice. He could swear that he heard it crack a little. She was clearly distressed about what he had done. He inwardly swore to never do anything to make her feel that way again.

"Well, I left something out when I told you," Harry said, trying to ignore Hermione's loyalty. He knew that she was implying that if he died, she and Ron would not be far behind. "You know the only reason that I died was because of the Bond of Blood that was in Voldemort's veins. But I never told you the other reason. The night Riddle came to my parents' house to kill me because of that bloody prophecy, he gave me more than his powers. He didn't even know that. I realized the reason of how he can see through me, and how I can see through him. It wasn't a mental connection."

Hermione furrowed her brows and began thinking furiously about where this was leading. For the first time, she had no idea where he was going with this. Harry sat down next to Hermione and took a sip of water, knowing the internal struggle inside her head. He decided to give her one more hint; "It was a soul connection."

Hermione widened her eyes and her mouth slowly opened in realization. It all clicked into place in her mind, as if a thousand piece puzzle formed together in two seconds. She slowly turned to Harry.

"So… do you mean… to say that you are… well, were… a—Horcrux?"

Harry nodded grimly, not seeing the wetness in Hermione's eyes. "An unintentional one. Now I know what the prophecy meant by 'Neither can live while the other survives.'"

By surprise, Hermione threw herself at Harry and gave him a crushing hug, burying her head in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Harry! I should have known! I should've found out sooner! I should've…" she silently cried, yet it was loud in Harry's ears, ringing with the guilt she had.

Harry awkwardly patted her back, wondering what Ron was going to say, or worse Ginny, if he was seen like this. "It's okay, Hermione, it's okay. It's all over." After a few seconds, Harry stopped patting her back and started rubbing it in small circles, gently. He found it easier to comfort Hermione than any other girl, especially Cho. He started wondering why; probably, because he was used to see her crying by now; He decided he'll worry about that later. "When Tom hit me with the killing curse, I didn't die, but the Horcrux was destroyed. Now, there is no trace of Tom left."

Hermione pulled back and locked her teary, brown eyes, with his emerald green eyes. She's looked at his eyes many times before never seen his eyes looking so…clear. His eyes were practically shining. Hermione knew it must have been the dark soul that resided within him his entire life that made his eyes cloudier before, or it could have been the dark things that have happened to him. There was a saying that you could see a person's soul by looking into their eyes. Whichever reason, Hermione decided she should turn away, before he asks what's wrong. She can't have a conversation with Harry about his eyes. It just wouldn't be a comfortable conversation… to Harry, anyway. She could look into his eyes all day, but she knew she had to look away. It would be too awkward.

Meanwhile, Harry was having an internal struggle himself. Hermione's eyes started sparkling all of a sudden, like she was happy about something. She was fairly close to his face, but for some odd reason, he didn't mind. He kind of liked it. She has been close to him like this before, and he always felt a little weird about it. In any case, he had to turn away, just in case any Weasley's came downstairs.

They both turned away at the same time after what seemed like hours, their faces incredibly red. They each took long sips of their drinks. There was a short silence until Hermione broke the tension. "So, umm, how are things with you and Ginny?"

Harry swallowed hard and wondered how they skipped to this conversation. Just a few seconds ago they were talking about Dark Lords and fragmented souls. "Well, um, we hadn't got back together. I wanted to give her some time to grieve, since Fred…you know. I can't believe all that happened a week ago. We lost Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin…" He broke off, the ache in his chest increasing. "If I knew what was going to happen to Remus, I wouldn't have yelled at him last year."

Hermione put her arm around Harry's shoulder. "Harry, you should be glad that you did. If you didn't, then Remus would've died and would've regretted that he never even saw Teddy, but with your encouragement, he even spent some time with him and Tonks. He would be very grateful for that. And I know what you were thinking that time, too. I think your dad would've taken your side."

Harry formed a small smile on his lips. "How much more do you know about me?"

Hermione's cheeks pinkened as she smiled. "Seven years worth."

Harry felt another weird feeling in his stomach, and his first thought was that he might need something to eat in a few minutes. He knew that Hermione liked to study, but she studied her friends, too? Ron would burst out laughing and yell 'I knew it'. Come to think of it…

"How are you and Ron?" He asked suddenly, but casually.

Hermione went pale and looked down at her coffee. "Well, as you saw, we kissed—"

"Of course I saw it. It was more hideous than Ron and Lavender snogging."

Hermione paled even more and said in a tiny voice, "Well, it was my first real kiss, technically. I was trying to give him a touch on the lips."

Harry's eyes widened at that understatement. "Okay, first of all, I thought you snogged Krum. Second, I saw your tongue. Were you giving him a touch on the lips, or the throat?"

Hermione's cheeks pinkened again in embarrassment, which got a smile out of Harry. She looked up at him with an affronted expression. "I didn't snog Krum! He gave me a kiss on the cheek after the Ball, which Ron ruined. He never even held my hand after that! And that was Ron's tongue, my mouth never even opened. I meant for it to be friendly. Okay, I admit, a little bit more." Harry furrowed his brow.

"But Ginny said that you snogged Krum."

"When?"

"When we caught her in the closet with Dean."

"She must have been assuming."

"So that was a 'little more than friendly' kiss. So, are you two going together?"

Hermione giggled, and she almost dipped her nose in the coffee for leaning over. Harry found that a little cute. "Are you serious? Do you realize how long that relationship would last? Not long. At first when I thought of me and Ron being together, I thought that we would be able to work out our rows and disagreements from then on. Then, as the year progressed, I thought about it. It's too much for me. So, about two days after, we officially ended things between us. He was a little, well,  _ very _ reluctant at first, I admit, but I assured him we'd still be the best of friends, along with you, of course."

Harry was thinking about what she said. He knew that they were never compatible, and could never be in a long-time relationship, no matter how much they liked each other. They may fight like 'an old married couple', but they're most likely try to kill each other before they get old. For some reason, though, he felt relieved to hear that. "You said 'as the year progressed'," Harry pointed out. "Didn't you mean years?"

Hermione took the last sip of coffee and sighed. "No. I only thought about it in sixth year. I gave up after that Lavender fiasco. I also fancied him a little on our trip. But, during the battle, I don't know what happened. I was so caught up in the adrenaline rush, thinking of what I did before that kiss. Me, a muggleborn, destroying part of an all-powerful wizard who happens to hate all people Muggle-related. And no other wizard in the world – except you, of course – could ever defeat him. I felt like I could do anything and not care about the consequences at the moment. And on top of that, Ron finally said something nice about House-elves. I was not thinking straight, for the first time in quite a while."

Harry smirked. "Hermione, you must've been a little disoriented. First, you tell me that something is too much for you to handle. Then you tell me that that something is Ron Weasley. Next you tell me that you didn't care about doing stuff and didn't worry about getting into trouble. Then you tell me you weren't thinking straight?"

"I know; I feel like I'm still in a hangover after what happened." They shared a laugh as they went to the sink to put the glass and the mug into the sink.

"Do you know any cleaning charms, Hermione?" Harry asked. He knew she could do any spell ever invented, but he's never seen her do a house chore spell before.

"Well, I did try once, but it became a disaster fairly quickly. We had to destroy the dishes before it spread. I was a little scared to do it after that." Harry was slightly curious to what happened, but immediately decided that he shouldn't know. Instead, he just shrugged and started washing the dishes by hand and soap.

Hermione was staring at him washing the dishes, wondering why he was the only boy she knew who could wash dishes without complaint. Not only was she surprised that he was cleaning them thoroughly, leaving them sparkling, she was surprised even more by the fact that she was next to the sink, a girl, and he didn't even ask her to do it. He didn't even ask for her help! Harry was very different from Ron, she thought absently. She was glad about the fact that he didn't ask any more along the lines of her trying to get Ron's attention during sixth year. She would probably never tell him now that he was with Ginny, but from the end of third year until the end of fifth year, she was trying to get the attention of the man in front of her. Harry may have said that they aren't dating at the moment, but Ginny will definitely try to get back with Harry before the beginning of the school year, probably before the end of the month.

Her fancy with Harry started off with a small crush in first year. He came to check on her to see if she was okay – much to Ron's dismay – only to find her almost getting crushed by a troll. While Ron was throwing small pipes at the troll, running around in circles and trying to hide, Harry jumped on its back and stuck his own wand up its nose. It was very brave and very stupid. And she was incredibly grateful for it. She wouldn't call it a crush. He was her best friend and her first friend, and that's natural.

When they became friends, Hermione started to know the real Harry Potter; not the Boy-Who-Lived, but Harry, a true friend, a kind and caring person, who happens to be in a series of very unfortunate events. A boy whose parents died when he was a baby. A boy who has been raised by people with a heart of stone, while he was able to keep one of gold. A boy who never made a friend, ever, until Ron and Hermione came along, and to some extent, Hedwig.

She couldn't help but be impressed by Harry when he solved her puzzle back in second year, obtained Godric Gryffindor's sword, and without even knowing how to wield one, killed a fifty-foot long basilisk and also figured out a way to destroy Tom's Horcrux. Any other way of trying to destroy it, and he probably would've been dead. It was pure dumb luck, but it was quite clever.

The crush grew into a strong liking when Harry saved Sirius and Buckbeak. She didn't think that she could've done it alone without him. When she held onto him for dear life as she went up into the sky, she started to relax a bit. And soon she started to enjoy it. She also knew why; as long as she was with Harry, she had nothing to be afraid of.

In fourth year, Hermione swore her heart stopped for at least 3 seconds when Professor Dumbledore called Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. At first it was a good thing. Hermione was able to help him with loads of spells, and she also got to spend a lot of time with him. Hermione wanted to curse Ron for thinking that Harry put his name in the cup and enchanted it so that his name came out. Honestly, it wasn't even in his handwriting! Then, by the time Ron had apologized and they made up, the Yule ball had come around. Hermione tried to get Harry to take her to the Yule Ball, at least as friends, but he was quite smitten by Cho at the time. When Viktor Krum, a Tri-Wizard Champion, asked her, she had to say yes. That would at least irk Ron a little.

Unfortunately, she got her wish in front of everyone in the common room after the ball. But she didn't want to think about that, though.

Right after the Second Task of the tournament, Hermione was disturbed to know that even if she and Viktor went on one date and only got a kiss on the cheek, that she was 'the thing that he would sorely miss.' He never even learned to say her name right. But she was a little bit happier when Krum told her that Harry almost fought a mermaid to save her until Krum appeared.

She started thinking of what happened after that when Harry finished the dishes and noticed Hermione with a faraway expression in her eyes, like if she was in an entirely different place. He dried his hands in a towel and softly snapped his fingers between her eyes as he whispered.

"Hermione?"

She returned to the present and began blinking rapidly. "You okay, Hermione?"

"What…oh, yeah…yeah, Harry."

"I think you need some sleep."

She quickly turned and ran upstairs until she got to the top. Without turning around, she whispered, "Night, Harry," and disappeared. Harry watched her go upstairs.

Shaking his head with embarrassment, he quietly made his trek to his and Ron's room.

When Harry pulled the covers over his bed, he looked over to Ron. He was sleeping with a frown on his face. He looked like he was grumbling in his sleep. He did notice that Ron was a little weird since the day after the battle. He was in a very sour mood, worse than the others, who just lost one of their own.

Sighing, he lied in the bed and tried to get a little more sleep in.


	2. Too Much Gin

Later that morning, when Harry awoke, he decided to put on a pair of heavy Muggle jeans and a thin, short-sleeved shirt, and borrowed Ron's Cleensweep for some morning flying. He walked down to the rusty old shed, looking for the broom. While he was looking, he wondered why the Weasley's, or him, for that matter, did not get an Order of Merlin yet. Each family member deserved one, including Fred. At least Ron should.

After finally finding a broom that wasn't as beat up he walked outside and flew around a bit. He hadn't flown in a year and it felt good to be in the sky again. The last two times really weren't that pleasant. The last time, he was in a giant motorcycle that was nothing compared to the giant man riding it. That time he lost his broomstick, the Firebolt. And Hedwig…

Harry shook his head and started flying as fast as the broom can go, as if trying to fly away from those thoughts. It was helping; Harry soon felt completely relaxed, something that hasn't happened to him in a long, long time.

As he was flying, he didn't notice a girl with long, fiery hair, watching him from the stands, broom in hand. She smiled as she watched him flying in circles, flying down at breakneck speeds, only to pull up at the last second. He got even closer to the ground than Krum ever could, she thought absently.

She knew that at the moment, he didn't want to be bothered, after killing (technically) the most powerful and most evil wizard ever, and she could barely respect that. He hasn't said anything to her since he asked her to leave the Room of Requirement, and he doesn't show any signs of wanting to talk to her. The occupants of the Burrow have been very gloomy since the battle. Fred, Remus, and Tonks have given their lives in that battle.

Remus and Tonks left a will, stating that Harry is Teddy Lupin's official Godfather, and if they receive an Order of Merlin, It would go to the Weasley family if they didn't get one. If they did, then their money would go to anyone in need of it, particularly orphanages. They knew it was a big chance that they both died before Teddy could turn seventeen, and knew that he wouldn't be sent to an orphanage when his Godfather himself, was an orphan. But they also knew that after Harry defeated Voldemort (they had no doubt in their mind that Harry would kill him eventually), he would have to start rebuilding his life, not immediately take in a kid. Until then, Andromeda Tonks was in charge of taking care of Teddy. Andromeda was still very shook up by the loss of family members in that war, but she still would take care of Teddy, and was immensely happy that Teddy was not involved in this war. She was also glad that Teddy does not have any bad generic traits from his father, but inherited her Dora's Metamorphmagus.

When Ron helped George clean the shop, they found a will left by Fred, stating that if he dies in the battle against Voldemort, (whose name he actually wrote) he hopes that he at least gets an Order of Merlin. He asks that if anyone wants to replace him in the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes business, He wants that person to be either a family member or a trusted Hogwarts friend, like Lee Jordan.

He also states that if his ears are intact, he would gladly give George his ear. 'It's not like I'm using it or anything! And I'm pretty sure it will be a perfect match.' George was still reluctant about the ear, but at the end of the will, Fred added a PS: 'If George doesn't take the ear, I'll ask Peeves to give him hell!' the surgery was performed the next day.

As Ginny kept watching Harry, she thought about sixth year, and the perks of being The Chosen One's girlfriend. When they were gone all year, she was asked out numerous times. When it was rumored that Harry Potter was dead, she did not believe it; that would be all over the news to scare people even more. She was asked out even more often. After remembering the fact that Harry broke up with her last year, she started dating Jonathan Turner, a Gryffindor in her year, during October, in secret of course. She grew to have feelings for him, but she still planned on getting Harry back, she kept telling herself. In April, a few weeks before the battle, she broke up with Jon. He knew why, and told her that if Harry thought that it wasn't working out, he'd be waiting.

Ginny decided that it was time to get back together with Harry, whether he was ready or not. She mounted her Nimbus broom and soared up to Harry's height. She blocked Harry's path, and he stopped instantly, a little agitated that she stopped him like that while he was clearing his mind. He also didn't want to get together with Ginny yet. It's only been a week. They still needed more time away from each other. At the moment, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be with her for a long while. He realized that he didn't really miss her when they lived in the same house. He decided not to bring that up. He said stiffly, "Hey Ginny."

"I want to get back together with you." It was straight and to the point.

"No, not yet," was also to the point, and Harry dropped from the sky, leaned forward, and started speeding off again. Ginny decides to try again, so she flies along Harry's side.

"Why not?" She asked irritably.

"I don't know why. I just…need more time."

"Time. Is. Up!" Said Ginny, getting angrier by the second. "How can you do this to me, leave your girlfriend for bloody year—"

"I broke up with you last—"

"Don't interrupt me, Potter! I realized that and I did date someone last year."

"You—what?"

"You broke up with me last year, remember?" Ginny yelled hot-headedly.

"Yeah, but…" Then Harry thought about it. He didn't know if he was gonna live through the Horcrux hunt, and with all the rumors of him being dead, he could understand why she would move on. It hurt him a little on the inside, but as long as she was happy, he was alright with it. He then starts wondering why he wasn't jealous. "Okay."

"And another—what?!"

"I said 'okay'. We broke up. It's understandable that you start dating. So, who's the lucky guy?"

Ginny was speechless. Her original plan was to date Jon to make Harry jealous, to make him want to never leave her again. She didn't think Harry was going to be okay with it, so she didn't have a back-up plan. If Harry's happy for her dating someone else, then that isn't good.

After a moment, she stuttered "I-it's Jon…Jonathan Turner."

"Hmm, never heard of him. And you just asked to go with me, while dating him? Or did you break up with him?"

Harry just thought about what he said. How can he be casually talking about Ginny's boyfriend when he wanted to be with her? Or did he? He's been mooning over her all year, wanting her to be back in his arms as soon as possible. But, as he thought of it, he's been thinking about her less and less through the year. And as he thought about it, why didn't he talk to her the moment he came back. The only time he talked to her was to get out of the Room of Requirement so he could destroy that tiara. He should've at least comforted her when everyone was in the Great Hall either celebrating or mourning over the battle. Well, she did have a lot of help being comforted, surrounded by Weasley's.

"I broke up with him." said Ginny, interrupting Harry's thoughts. "I thought that when you came back you'd have an engagement ring." She said, flying closer to him and checking his pockets. Harry blanched. From the look on her face, she wasn't joking.

"Are you nutters? We only dated for 2 bloody weeks, and you're talking about getting married?"

"What? It would be more romantic." Replied Ginny, as if she hadn't said anything wrong. "Think about it, the hero leaves his damsel for an entire year, and then returns to slay the beast, and he immediately proposes to her in front of everyone, they get married and they'll live happily ever after."

Harry could not believe what he was hearing.

"Okay, first of all, I want to wait at least a year till I even think of getting married—"

"No, you're not! I won't wait that long!"

"I know you don't want to wait that long, but you're not the one that's going to give you a bloody ring, are you?"

Harry dropped from the sky and this time, he didn't lean forward. When he was a meter from the ground, he slipped his leg over the broom and threw himself off. He landed perfectly on the golden grass, broom in hand, and he quickly walked off. Ginny flew down and flew beside him, a tear in her eye, "Harry…d-do you…do you love me?"

Harry stopped in his tracks. Did he love her? He liked her very much, but did he love her? The monster in his chest was being unusually quiet; usually he could almost hear it roaring in his chest whenever she was near. It surely would've popped out of his chest if it heard those words…but it wasn't there. Harry started thinking back to when he first had feelings for her. He first thought of his feelings for her when he, Ron and Hermione caught her snogging Dean, but when did he first think about Ginny that way?

"Ginny…you know I like you very much…I'd do anything for you…but I'm not sure if I…you know…love you. I mean how can you fall in love in two weeks?"

Harry looked up to see a teary-eyed Ginny. He again felt very uncomfortable around crying girls. She spoke in a soft, but bitter voice. "I've always loved you…since I was ten—"

"That's not true," Harry said, his voice soft and comforting, "you did not love me since you were ten. You loved the Boy-Who-Lived, just like all other ten-year-old girls. Tell me, Ginny, when did you get to start knowing me, and not the Savior of the Wizarding World?"

It was an incredibly tough question for Ginny. When did she start falling in love with the real Harry? "I…I-I don't know. I don't know when I switched…every time I thought of you, I always thought, 'hero' and 'savior' and 'the boy who saved my life'. I never really thought there was a difference."

This put Harry in a new light. "You never switched, did you? You never loved me. You only thought of me as a friend, possibly a brother. You loved my exploits. That's why you wanted me to propose to you then, huh? To get celebrity status?" Harry's voice wasn't bitter, but amazingly still comforting. This would have hurt him much more in the past, but now, it seemed like it was nothing, really.

"Sweet Merlin…did I? I think…I think I have only thought of you as a friend. I just combined it with my love for your status. I wanted to share that status with you. I guess I was just…blind. Are you mad at me?"

"Actually…no." Harry said. "I'm pretty irked that you only saw 'The Chosen One', but I'm glad it was unconsciously, and thought you knew me, so it was an honest mistake, right?"

"Y-yes, I g-guess it was." Ginny replied. "So, -" she wipes off the tears with the sleeves of her shirt, "are we breaking up…for real?" Harry had that same thought in his mind, and after some thinking, he said, "Well, can you still be one of my best friends?" "You bet!" she replied, this time with a bit of a smile. "Well, Ginny, I guess we are breaking up." She landed on the now green grass, dismounted the broom and hugged Harry for all he was worth. "Friends are allowed to hug friends, right?"

"Yeah, they are." Harry said as he hugged her back. "Just make it a little less awkward next time, and no kiss on the cheek."

"How can Hermione get to kiss you on the cheek, but I can't?"

"It would be awkward."

"How would it be awkward with me and not her?"

"She's not my ex-girlfriend."

"Well, she broke up with Ron, so she's gonna kiss you on the cheek a lot more." She said teasingly. Harry's face felt hot, but would say it was the sun; it was just now coming up.

Harry pulled back and asked her, "Don't you have a boyfriend to dial?" Ginny looked up at him for a second, and Harry almost thought that she could read his mind, until he realized what he said. "Oh, I meant 'owl'. I forgot that you don't have phones."

"Ohhh. Well, see you later, Harry." She kissed him on the cheek and walks away. "It's not awkward to me." She says to herself, loud enough for Harry to hear. He smirked and went to the shed to put back the broom. He then made his way back into the house.


	3. Another Trip

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Ron?"

"Did you break up with Ginny?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause.

"Why?"

"She only liked me as a friend."

Ron just stood there, dumbfounded, mouth furiously working as if looking for the right words to say. Finally, he said, "Is  _ she _ out of her bloody mind, or are  _ you _ ?"

Harry looked up at him from his book, 'The Tales of Beadle the Bard'. "What are you talking about?" he asked, although he already knew what he was about to say.

"You already know what I'm about to say." Yelled an annoyed Ron, echoing Harry's thoughts. "You dumped my sister, even though she was madly in love with you for seven years—"

"She wasn't," said Harry casually, looking back to the book. "She was in love with the Boy-Who-Lived, but she only liked me, Harry, as a friend, so we broke up."

Ron's ears turned red, the first sign of Weasley temper emerging. "I should hit you, you bloody—"

"And besides, she already has a boyfriend." Harry said, still not feeling angry, but instead, bored with the conversation.

"She-she what?"

"She has—" he turned the page, "a boyfriend. She started dating him while were gone. We  _ did _ break up at the end of last year, you know. We just made it permanent this morning."

Ron had a gobsmacked expression on his face this time, seeing Harry talk so casually about his ex-girlfriend's love-life. He really needed to stop jumping to conclusions. Finally he asked, "Who is he?"

"Jonathan Turner. Have you heard of him?"

"N-no. But still, you may have broken up with her, but technically, she still cheated on you. As her brother and as your best mate, I'm gonna have to do something about that."

"Ron, don't—"

"What, you don't want me to get her to take me to that Turner bloke's house and…well," he pulls his wand out of his pocket and starts twirling it between his fingers, "talk to him."

Harry smirked. "Well, if you want to…but ask her if he was fighting with us at Hogwarts. If he did, don't do anything to him. At least she chose someone brave. You didn't hear this from me, though. She'll be mad at me for telling you, and since she's gotten over the crush, I'm in danger of facing the Bat-Bogey Hex that everyone's afraid of."

Ron smirked, too. "You wouldn't be the same ever again if you get hit by her hex. Alright, I agree with you. I'll do that a little later, though. Mum's out of her mind. She keeps staying in her room, doing something. Not even dad knows what she's doing, but he reckons she's grieving. She always wanted you to be her son." Ron's smirk faded a little. Harry didn't notice. He was thinking about something he had remembered when Ron said 'Mum'. Then Harry remembered.

"Ron, let's go talk to Hermione."

"Why?"

"I just remembered something about what we're gonna have to do next."

Ron looked at him in shock. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"What's going on?"

They turned to see Hermione in the doorway. "Sorry, Harry, about Ginny. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," he waved his hand like it was something unimportant, "but I just remembered…We have to go to Australia."

"Australia? What's in—?" Realization struck Hermione like a Bludger to the head. "My parents! I…I forgot all about them! I'm a terrible daughter!" She said restlessly.

"Hermione, I think it was safe to say that we had other things on our minds." Harry said as he walked over and put an arm around her shoulders, and a warmth filled Hermione. "And if it makes you feel better, they don't remember you either."

That got a smile out of Hermione. "You're right, but still, it's been a whole week. I need to go soon to pick them up. I need to pack, get a plane ticket, possibly sunscreen—"

"Hermione," Harry asked, now removing his arm from her, "what is with the singular sentences? We're going with you, you know."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry, I'm not asking you guys to go to another country!"

"I know you're not gonna ask us, we're just telling you we're going. You have been following me around for the past year, it's only right. We're in this together, remember?" Harry turns to Ron. "Right, Ron?"

Ron was staring at Harry and Hermione the whole time. If Ron was in Harry's place, he would have said  _ 'Are you sure you want to go by yourself?' _ and  _ 'Alright, I hope you can find them soon. I heard it's a big island.' _

But not only has he comforted her, he assured her that he was going with her to another country, just to find her parents and come back. That is what Ron called fierce loyalty. He's done that to Harry many times before, but he doesn't remember showing loyalty to Hermione. That again made him think about his feelings for Hermione. Back at the Yule Ball, Harry supported Hermione; he even said  _ 'I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum.' _

But he, Ron, had rowed with her on her special night. Harry trusted her, but Ron didn't, thinking she was 'fraternizing with the enemy' and 'helping Vicky with the egg'. Ron knew now that the only reason he had that row with her was because he was jealous. But he knew he had 2 months to ask her to the Ball. All around, he was an ignorant, stupid, and selfish git.

No matter how much he hates to admit it, Hermione and Harry make the perfect couple, even if they'll always be a couple of friends. He knew that now and made sure that they'll always stay friends. It was a stupid Horcrux that said it out loud, that Ron loved Hermione. But she deserves better. She deserved someone who acknowledges her. She deserved someone who can comfort her, support her, and not row with her on a daily basis. And he knew who she liked more, even if she kissed Ron. She likes Harry.

Although he very much doubted Harry would ever like her that way, since she is definitely more of a motherly figure to Harry than dating material. He wondered that if Harry finally tells Hermione that he wants to be 'just friends,' she'll settle for Ron. He hopes Harry would do that soon.

He shook his head from his thoughts. "Of course," Ron said immediately. "I've always wanted to go to Austria."

"Australia, Ron." Hermione instinctively lectured, confirming Ron's thoughts of her being more of a motherly figure. "It's a continent, country, and an island in the south. It's the only place that's all three-in-one. That's why I chose Australia, because it's so unique."

Harry asked, "So, when do you want to leave?"

"Well, I guess I have to leave in a day or two."

"Well I'll get the tickets, but you said something about sunscreen?"

"You don't know what sunscreen is?"

Harry furrowed his brow. "Is it that white stuff Aunt Petunia puts all over Dudley when they go to the beach?"

"We're going to the beach?" Ron asked.

"Probably not, but Australia is pretty hot this time of year. Do you guys have any swimming trunks?"

While Harry said 'No', Ron asked what swimming trunks were.

" _Honestly_ , Ron, I found out about wizards when I was 11, and I know a lot about magic. Why can't you learn about muggles?"

"I don't know…magic is easier."

"You need to at least learn the basics. The flight from London to Australia when I took my parents there is twenty-one hours!"

"What!" yelled Ron. "I have to sit on a plane…a plane filled with muggles…no magic…at all?"

"Is there something wrong with muggles, Ron?" Hermione asked in a tone that would make McGonagall proud.

"No!" Said Ron, taking a step back. "I'm just saying they might see me use magic."

"You won't be able to use magic, anyway." Hermione said going over to Harry's bed and sitting down. "You have to put it in the luggage bag that will go in another part of the plane. Otherwise, they'll think it's a weapon."

"N-no magic…for twenty-one bloody hours. I'd rather go there on a Hungarian Horntail. Wait!" said Ron as he snapped his fingers. "Can't we get an international Portkey?"

Harry walked over to his bed, sat down on the floor and leaned into the side of the bed next to Hermione. "Don't you think the Ministry's still a little too busy? They're having Death Eater trials all this week. We haven't seen Kingsley, being the minister and all, so he won't be able to get one for us. I've never been on an airplane before. Might be as fun as flying a broomstick, I reckon."

"I need to write a list. We also need earplugs if this is your first time on a plane. Ron, too. I'm going to go grab some parchment." She stood up and ran from the room.

"It's about time we got a vacation without running for our lives, eh, Ron? Ron?"

"I can't do it."


	4. Repeat

Harry looked up to see an extremely pale-faced Ron.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go on the trip!"

"Why not? It's only almost a day's flight, you can sleep."

"But I snore…and there will be muggle passengers… and I can't use the silencio spell or any other soundproofing charms."

"Yeah, but snoring loudly isn't a magical disease, is it?" Asked Harry, wondering why he refuse do magic for a day.

"Well, they'll say I'm loud, aren't they? They'll wake me up. Can you imagine me being on an airplane being forced awake?"

Harry didn't answer, as he didn't want to say anything that will upset him even more. "D'you think if I used the Elder Wand to perform a silencio spell, it would last for twenty-one hours?"

"Mate, I think it would last for years with the history behind that wand."

Harry snickers a little. "I bet Hermione wouldn't complain." He then had to roll to the side from an oncoming pillow. He absently thought, I might even get a kiss out of it!

It then occurred to Harry what he was about to do. He was about to go on another trip with Hermione by themselves. And this time, Hermione's not going to grieve. Harry inwardly smiled; it might not be so bad of a trip.

Hermione returned a moment later parchment and wand in hand. "This will be the perfect chance to practice writing spells."

"Ron doesn't want to come, Hermione." Harry explained, looking over at Ron. "He doesn't think he can be a muggle for a few days, after all the stuff we did."

"We could use magic, then!" Exclaimed Ron, his ears reddening. "I just don't fit in the muggle world. You guys figured that out at the World Cup."

Hermione's smile faltered a bit. If Ron couldn't go, then that means Harry would probably think it was uncomfortable to go with his best friend—who happens to be a girl—to an island paradise alone.

"Well, I can't make you go, but you should be able to stand up to your fears. I'll just add your things last in case you want to come with me."

"Did you just say the word 'me' again?" Asked Harry, his eyebrows raised.

"Oh, you're still coming?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Well, the last time Ron left, you didn't leave me, so I guess it's the other way around." Harry replied, hearing Ron grumble something like 'I came back.'

Hermione's heart soared. She just couldn't believe what Harry said. Harry just told her that he wanted to go with her to Australia, still. In fact, he looked happy to join her. It was probably the fact that Harry had never been there, or never been on a plane, but regardless, she was happy. She would like to spend more time with him. If she wasn't crying over Ron leaving them the past year, she would have enjoyed the short time she had with Harry. She wasn't about to let that mistake happen again.

"Okay then, I'll start making the list for what we need on our trip." Hermione said, emphasizing the plural words. Harry smiled a bit.

"I've got the tickets and anything else we need covered…if the goblins aren't too mad at me."

"Do you really think they'll still be mad at you, mate?" Ron asked, done with his grumbling.

"Well, I expect them to be mad that you're entering their bank, but they treat the richest customers with the most respect, and since you…Harry!" She yelled, clapping her hands together. Harry looked up to Hermione. She, still holding her hands together, asked "Have you seen the Black family's vault?"

Harry's eyes widened at that question. "I forgot all about it! I mean he must have had a bit of money, because he bought me that Firebolt, right?"

"Sirius's parents are respected purebloods, mate." Ron said, leaning back to lie on the bed. "They should have a ton of money, as much as your vault. Probably more."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He then noticed Hermione had her index finger on her chin; a sign that she was thinking furiously. What are you thinking, Hermione?"

She slowly said, "Lestrange…her vault…well, there's no one that we know who's closely related to Bellatrix, nor does anyone want to claim that she nor her husband is in their family, but before she became a Lestrange, her last name was Black. I wonder if you have access to her vault, then? I know that Draco should be next in line, but…" Hermione smirked, "He owes you two life debts. I'm sure that vault would make up for one."

"Well…possibly." Harry said slowly. "I have to go talk to the goblins before I do anything else. So, are there any more hidden vaults that I should know about?"

"Well, I can't think of any more," said Hermione, not noticing the sarcasm of Harry's question. Ron snickered, while Harry just smiled.

"Oh! I should start making the list." Hermione said, and rushed over to a desk and sat down. Concentrating on the list in her mind she waved her wand above the blank parchment and muttered,  _ "Writsialis Contatem." _

The parchment was slowly filling up with words right before her. She didn't notice that Harry had gotten up from the floor and walked up behind her before she said the spell, so she jumped a little when Harry's head leaned over her shoulder and muttered, "Brilliant!"

Ron didn't leave the bed, but he could see the parchment filling out with Hermione's familiar neat writing. "That's a long list, Hermione. I thought you guys were leaving for a few days."

"Well, Australia is a fairly large place, Ron, so I don't think it will be a little bit more than one day. I told them in their memories that they were to go to a secluded place there. It won't take long to find them, but it won't be easy."

"What won't be easy?" Ginny walked into the room and sat on Harry' bed. "Are you guys going on another adventure again? I want to go, too!"

Ron lifted his head up and looked over at her from his bed. "Do you want to be on a plane for twenty-one hours without any magic?"

Ginny quickly turned pale. "No thanks, although I'm surprised that you're going to…wherever you guys are going, Ron."

Ron frowned a little. "I'm not. Harry and Hermione are going to find her parents in Australia. She altered their memories so that they won't be found and/or tortured for information."

"So, Harry and Hermione are leaving the country…together…and going to a beautiful Island paradise for who knows how long?" Ginny asked with not an angry look, but a curious one.

Hermione blushed furiously at the way she said it, and pretended to double-check the list, and pretending not to hear. Harry, with a pink tinge on his cheeks, said casually, "Well, yeah, that's the gist of it." He did not notice Ron arching his brow.

Ginny walked over to Hermione and pretending to be reading the list that she made, but then whispers so only Hermione can hear, "You work fast." Hermione turned a bit redder, if possible. "I didn't make him come, he wanted to!" Ginny smirked when she heard that and looked over to Ron and Harry discussing the 'items' in the book Harry was reading. "Then Harry works fast. Who knows, maybe during the trip, he'll want to come again."

Hermione almost passed out when she understood the double meaning of that sentence. Ginny quickly added "Don't get your hopes up, though," and walked away, headed towards the door. "I hope you two have a great time." She winked and disappeared.

Harry, who was now talking about the Resurrection Stone, waved at Ginny without looking back, as he was in deep thought, also. He then spoke. "D'you think it was a good idea to leave that ring in the forest? I should have used it a bit more. I would've liked talking to my parents, Sirius, Fred, and the Lupins. I'm sure Teddy and you guys would've liked to."

Hermione got over her embarrassment and joined the conversation. "Well, Dumbledore says not to retrieve it, but I think you should. It's going to be found sooner or later, and someone might know what it is by the symbol on it, and how to use it soon after."

Harry was listening, but was still shocked at what she first said. When she finished, he asked. "Hermione…did you just choose to go against Dumbledore's orders?"

Hermione felt her cheeks turned red at what she said, making Harry's stomach feel weird again. "Well, I bet Dumbledore would have gone to find it and put it somewhere safe inside of Hogwarts. It's only right that you do the same, except not at Hogwarts. Try your vault or Grimmauld Place."

"Yeah, it's impossible to break into those places and steal stuff." Ron said seriously. Harry and Hermione started chuckling while Ron grinned. Soon they broke into fits of laughter.

"But seriously," Hermione said as she regained her composure and the laughter died down, "When should we leave?"

"How about in a couple of days?" Harry suggested. "We're able to go to Gringotts tomorrow and go shopping in the muggle world."

"Okay then, it's all set." She then rolled up the parchment and asked, "So what do you guys want to do the rest of the day? Please don't say Quidditch!" Hermione begged as Ron immediately opened his mouth to answer, then shut it as Harry sniggered.

"Well, we could always teach you how to fly better. The match that we had a couple of years ago proved that you need some training." Harry said. "It's pretty easy. It's like…" he smirked. "Like being on a plane."

"But I don't have to hold on for dear life on a plane." She reasoned.

"Well you control the broom, don't you? If you want it fast enough for you to hold on for dear life, it's your choice. Come on, Hermione." Harry pleaded.

She took a deep breath and followed Harry and Ron out of the room and to the Garden shed. Harry smiled as he saw the Gnomes running around, ducking behind the bushes from the humans.

"Ron, what's the slowest broom you have?" Harry asked.

"Charlie's old broom, the Lightning Cloud. I'll go get it." And he ran off to the shed.

"I don't know about this, Harry." Hermione said as she repeatedly kept kicking the ground, nervous. "What if I fall?"

"Then I'll catch you." Harry said, with no hesitation.

"What if I go too high?"

"I'll follow you."

"What if I ran into you?"

"We'll fall, then I'll catch you and summon my broom back."

"What if—"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted, "you didn't complain this much when we rode Buckbeak?"

Hermione's cheeks pinkened. "Well, that was a life-or-death situation, Harry. And besides, I was behind you, closing my eyes, while you were flying. I know you'd never fall off your broom when others are flying with you. When you're by yourself on the other hand…"

Harry thought about that statement, wondering what to do with this little predicament.

Just then Ron came back, holding one broom in his hand. It was polished and smooth, but it did look very old; it was thinning out as if dehydrated. "It might look old, but it still has a few more years on it."

They turned around and Harry walked over to Ron. Ron gave the broom to him and said, "Don't worry, the broom is steady and it's pretty slow. I forgot yours, though." He started to pace back, when Harry said, "No. We don't need another broom. I'm gonna use the same method that we used the last time she wasn't so nervous about flying."

Hermione's heart began beating frantically. Is he gonna…

She didn't need to finish that question as he did what she suspected. He put his right leg around the broom and lifted off the ground about a foot. He then skimmed over the brown grass over to Hermione and stopped, still hovering.

"Well," he said a little nervously, "you need to learn how to enjoy flying, but most importantly, you need to enjoy staying in the air. One step at a time. You ready?" He asked, his voice becoming more relaxed with each word and as he finished, he gave a lopsided grin towards her that gave her a bit of trouble standing up. She knew there was no way she could refuse that grin.

"Okay," she added a little too fast, so she added, "but you will be flying, right?"

"Of course," Harry sighed, relieved that she said yes. He started thinking back to when he had a bit of a crush on her ever since second year. He saw how beautiful she was at the Yule Ball, and his crush for her grew a little bit more. She would make a good girlfriend, hell, a great one, but he knew Ron liked her. He had to drive all thought about Hermione away, for Ron's sake. Besides, she doesn't even like me like that.

Harry's train of thought quickly fogged when Hermione grabbed his shoulder gently to hoist herself on. She snaked her arms around him, causing his abs to clench.

Hermione was very nervous when she hoisted herself onto the Lightning Cloud. She was even more nervous when she put her arms around him. When his abs clenched, she pulled closer to him. She loved the abs that Harry developed. During the past year, every morning Harry woke up, he would do push-ups and sit-ups until he couldn't anymore. Harry always said that if he's stronger, he'll have better wand movement, and he won't get tired after a particularly powerful spell. Hermione always watched when he did pull-ups from time-to-time on low branches near their tent. She loved the way the muscles rippled in his arms when he did pull-ups. He said that he did it to battle Voldemort, but he still does push-ups and exercises every now and then.

"You ready?" He asked, his voice in a slight crack. Hermione didn't notice it, because of her nervousness.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She said, her voice a higher pitch than normal.

Harry slowly lifted off of the ground. Hermione was light, so it was pretty easy to balance. They noticed Ron looking up at them with an unreadable expression, which was a strange thing for Ron. Whatever it was, the both of them were distinctly uncomfortable. As soon as Heermione was thinking to tell Harry to go higher, the broom started speeding upwards. They went up about twenty-five feet when they stopped, Harry asked, "Why did it go that fast? Was it the broom?"

Hermione replied "Didn't you tell it to go that fast?"

"No. Did you tell it to go faster?"

"No, but I was about to ask you to go higher. Wait, the broom was going faster and upwards at the same time. Harry, did you tell the broom to go faster?"

After a moment, he said, "Yeah…I guess that means you can control it, too. Congrats, Hermione, you know how to fly a broom." He smiled.

"Yeah, but that was an accident!" said Hermione.

"Well, think of what direction to go. Don't try too hard, or you'll go too fast."Hermione took a deep breath, and Harry shivered when he felt her hot air reach his neck. The broom started moving forward, under Hermione's control, then backwards.

She turned the broom around and started moving the broom around as if it were a tricycle, just going in small little circles. Harry had a wide grin on his face.

"Well, now can I tell you congratulations?"

"I don't know how to control it completely." Said Hermione, as if afraid the broom might drop.

Harry then gripped the broom tighter. "One step at a time, Hermione. You have to go on the ride before you can control it."

"That didn't happen to you!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not normal, am I?" Harry said, still grinning. "Like I said, we're going on a ride. Hold on tight. You ready?"

Hermione held Harry as if her life depended on it (which it did). "I'm ready."

Harry nodded, then looked forward, leaning in a little. The broom started accelerating, faster and faster. Hermione was starting to get more nervous until she realized that Harry was there with her. She had nothing to worry about. She started to relax a little as the broom went up vertically.

She was a bit scared when Harry turned completely upside down. She crossed her legs under the broom, tightening her grip around Harry and let out a little shriek. Harry, on the other hand, felt that no matter how hard Hermione squeezed him, they always felt warm around him, and felt more daring at the moment causing him to go faster.

Ron was still watching, and when they went higher, Ron took out the omnioculars in his pocket. As he was watching Hermione shriek, he inwardly grinned. "Looks like she's liking him less and less. I've seen enough." He then went back inside of the house.

After a while, though, Ron lost his confidence, as Harry and Hermione were flying for about five hours. He looked out of the window. Harry and Hermione were grinning madly, on their own different broom. They were racing across the Burrow, with all of the Weasley's, save Mr. Weasley and Fleur, watching them. Ron leaned over a bit so he could see their faces, as they were all huddled up in transfigured bleachers.

Mrs. Weasley still looked a bit sad, with fresh tears in her eyes (still mad at Harry for 'ruining Ginny's future'), but is still looking back and forth, watching them race. George was jumping up and down, rooting on whoever was winning and placing bets with the rest of the brothers. George thought that Fred passed on his 'Forge Funnies' to his twin, who had 'Gred Gags'. George was the one who came up with most of the ideas of the shop. Fred was always the one who gave the stuff the cool names and was basically the funnier of the now incomplete pair. George said wasn't overdoing the energy he seemed to have found, but underdoing it, and that it was Fred's ear that unlocked his potential.

Bill was looking amused while watching. He always knew that Ron and Hermione wouldn't work out together, but he didn't think that Harry would break up with Ginny. Since he and Harry grew closer over the past year, however, he easily forgave Harry. He was also rather impressed that they broke into Gringotts and got out flying a dragon.

Percy had mixed feelings while watching but was still rooting them on. He wanted to be on good terms with his family again, as he had three years to make up, but he thought he should get on good terms with Harry again. He knew that over half of his family would have been gone if it weren't for Harry. And he knew that the letter he had given Ron a few months before the attack on his father didn't help at all.

Charlie was also watching them race. He was a bit mad at them for breaking up with his two youngest siblings, but he loved Quidditch and racing, so he threw up a Quaffle when they were tired of racing, and now they were tossing it back and forth as all except Molly and Fleur ran to the shed for their broomsticks to play a real game.

It was when Ron was looking at them running out of the shed when he noticed that Ginny wasn't there with them. Taking this chance, Ron walked out of his room and headed towards Ginny's. He saw her sitting on her bed, writing in her diary. He walked over to Ginny and sat on her bed facing the cover of the diary.

"Why did you break up with him?"

"I thought you and Harry already talked about this." Ginny said, not looking up from her new, bright red book titled 'GW' in Gryffindor gold and glitter. The diary was a present from Fred, asking for Ginny to get over her fears when Voldemort is killed by Harry. He had no doubt in his mind that Harry would kill him soon. He wanted Ginny to write in it often, so she could slowly but surely and completely get over her fear for Tom Riddle. He also had to add a special addition to the book; when someone else tries to open it that is not specified by Ginny in the front-inside cover, the book will grow teeth and start attacking the person, and can withstand any trap and spell. The only way for it to stop is if the owner of the diary tells it to stop.

"Yeah, we did, but…did you really cheat on him?"

"Of course not! Harry and I weren't dating then."

"Where does that bloody wanker live?" Said Ron hotly.

"None of your business, Ronald Weasley," she said in a Hermione-like tone. "Harry's okay with it, because we've broken up permanently. You have nothing to do with my love life."

"Yes. I. Do!" Said Ron in a cold, hard voice. This time, Ginny did look up from her book to see the angriest Ron she's ever seen. Her eyes widened a little. "Break up with him." He said, his voice turning into a low growl.

"I know why you want me to." Ginny replied softly, not letting is angry look and tone phase her. "You're hoping that Harry and Hermione realize that they'll always be best friends and nothing more. Hermione will then go back to you while I'll be on the rebound for Harry. Then we'll all live happily ever after as one big(ger) happy Weasley Family.

"But that won't work. We both realized that I only love Harry as a friend, a best friend. But not like a boyfriend. He wants a girlfriend who loves him for him."

"There's no one like that! Every girl loves Harry for the Chosen One rubbish! He won't find any girl that will actually look past that except a muggle!"

"There is one witch who did look past that." She said softly.

"But…they're just friends. Nothing more—"

"Well, we'll figure out soon, won't we? They'll be living together for a while, right. If they lived together for a while, it'll be just like a marriage test. Will they want to kill each other before the journey ends, or will they be wanting to live together again in the future…permanently?"

Ron gulped. "I can only hope, then?"

Ginny sighed. "Yeah. But if Harry does like her, (which I doubt, by the way) you'll break Harry's feelings."

"What about mine?"

"What about them? Hermione told me what you did to them. Regardless of saving Harry's life, if you were with them the entire time, you could have reminded Harry to take the locket off!" She barely screamed.

Ron knew this, but didn't think anyone would notice. But Hermione figures everything out, and just didn't say anything. He slumped his shoulders in defeat. Hearing that out loud just made it sound…traitorous and pathetic. Ginny put down her muggle style pen and patted her hand on Ron's back. "Ron, there's still a chance that they'll only be friends."

"I still hope she acts like Harry's mum on their journey. That way, he'll know for sure." Ron said hopefully. "I'll see you later, Gin." He said, getting up and going towards the door. When he walked outside, he turned around and asked, "This Jonathan Turner bloke…where was he during the Hogwarts battle?"

"He was fighting of course!" Ginny said proudly. She picked back up her bright red and gold-glittered pen and stated writing in her journal again.

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley clan finally went in an hour later, congratulating Hermione for learning how to fly so well and fast, while congratulating Harry for teaching Hermione so well. Harry (Seeker), Hermione (Chaser), and George (Keeper) won against Bill (Seeker), Percy (Chaser), and Charlie (Keeper) with a total of 200 to 130, using Harry's snitch.

"Well, we have a lot to do tomorrow." Harry said to Hermione as the Weasley's left to their rooms and they were the only two left. "Think we should go to bed?"

He started walking away, when Hermione turned him around and pulled him into a crushing hug. "Thanks for helping me fly my broom."

Harry was almost distracted by the gentle feel of Hermione in his arms that he almost forgot to hug back. "No problem. Who knows, maybe you'll get your own broom in the future." He said with a grin that was hidden by her long brown hair. Hermione wasn't paying attention, too distracted by the tight muggle shirt he was wearing, and the muscles showing, thanks to that shirt. Hermione made a mental note that she should buy some more of those shirts when they go shopping.

Thinking that she hugged him a little bit longer than necessary, she let go, cheeks pinkened, and ran upstairs to her bed. Harry, whose face was also slightly pink and wanted the hug to last a little longer, also went up to Ron's and his room a little while later. He then changed into pajama pants and placed an alarm charm on himself. He laid out his clothes for the next day and drifted off to sleep, with no nightmares at all.


	5. Goblins, Galleons, and Good-bye

"Harry," someone said in a soothing and comforting voice, "wake up, its time to go."

Harry slowly opened his eyes to find a pair of brown eyes looking at him. He was lost in them for a moment, and so was Hermione in his eyes, until they both snapped out of it a short moment later. He sat up in the bed and put on his glasses. Hermione's eyes widened at the fact that Harry didn't sleep with a shirt on. Harry also realized this, and pulled up his sheet a little bit more. She's seen him shirtless a lot of times, but it just seemed so... indecent now.

"What time is it?" Harry asked, breaking Hermione's trance of staring at his abs.

"Oh... it's seven-thirty." She said, checking her watch. "Didn't you set a waking-up spell?" Harry grinned. "I call it an alarm charm." Hermione's mouth twitched. "And yes, I set it for seven forty-five. But this is you we're talking about. Maybe I should have set it for five?" Harry asked casually with a grin.

Hermione went red and looked down at her shoes. She was fully dressed in muggle clothing. She had on muggle jeans for men (she said that the girls' pants were too tight when they were supposed to be larger than her size, and Ginny said that they looked good on her) and a large, pink tee shirt.

Saving Hermione from more embarrassment, Harry put his feet on the ground and stood up, heading towards the chair, which he laid out his clothes the previous night. "You have the list, right?"

"Uhh... yes, I have it... ... we're going to Gringotts first, right?" Hermione asked, as she was looking at Harry's back until he put on his shirt.

"Yeah, If they want me there. Then we're going to the muggle world, right?" Harry asked as he was stepping into the closet to change into his pants. It took every muscle in Hermione's body to not sneak up to the closet and look through the crack. She mentally berated the hormonal part of herself.  _ He doesn't like me like that! _ She kept telling herself.

Hermione waited and double-checked the list (once again) while waiting for Harry to come out, hoping she doesn't follow her instincts at any given time while she waits.

It didn't take long, as Harry stepped out of the closet wearing a large, black tee shirt and a pair of long, blue-jean shorts, showing off his arm and leg muscles. Hermione quickly turned red and looked away from Harry as she fast-walked over to what was hanging on the door; an Invisibility Cloak.

"Should we get going, then?" Harry asked.

"Let's go." She said, folding the Cloak and putting it in the black bag that was on the floor. "We'll put our things in here, but I need to make it look convincing enough to pass for something muggle." She then pointed her wand at the bag and a big, white, curvy checkmark came into view.

Harry nodded his approval and grabbed Hermione by the hand and said, "Get the Cloak back out." She pulled the Cloak out of the bag and threw it over them. The Cloak hadn't reached the floor, so they scooted down a little, just enough so they could walk. When the Cloak could still show their feet, they both knew what they had to do next; they were too distanced.

Harry let go of Hermione's hand and hesitantly put an arm around Hermione's waist and pulled him closer to her. Hermione thought her heart would burst out of her chest, as it was trying its best to ram itself out. But, she didn't know that Harry's heart was beating just as quickly and just as intense. He quickly disapparated, now that the Cloak touched the ground, so that the beating wouldn't be heard.

The air escaping from their lungs did slow down their heart rates a bit. A short moment later, they were in Diagon Alley. The place looked incredibly... lively. There were witches and wizards jumping, rejoicing over the fallen Dark Lord, shooting up fireworks on occasion, possibly from WWW. There were no closed shops around and the streets were crowded. It was only a week and a half ago, so Harry and Hermione expected them to still be happy, but this was just too much!

Harry whispered in Hermione's ear, "I think they're crazier than they were almost eighteen years ago. I guess it's because they know for a fact that he's dead. I heard they have his body on display at the Ministry."

They started walking towards Gringotts, and since the building was so big, they couldn't miss it. They brushed into a few people along the way, but they didn't notice as they were too jubilant, running out, buying items and enjoying life while it lasts. When they approached the front of the bank with not two, but six Wizarding guards, three on each side, they saw the familiar inscription on the door.

 __"Enter, stranger, but take heed  
of what awaits the sin of greed  
for those who take, but do not earn,  
must pay dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
a treasure that was never yours,  
thief, you have been warned, beware  
of finding more than treasure there."

Harry grinned. "I remember Hagrid telling me before I started Hogwarts that you have to be mad to rob Gringotts."

Hermione grinned back. "I agree. You have to be  _ completely _ mad to rob this place. I'm glad we're not  _ that _ nutters." A few seconds later, after trying to hold in their chuckles, they burst out laughing, but silent enough for the guards not to hear them until they finally regained their posture. He then let go of Hermione's waist and pulled off the Cloak.

The guard on the far left noticed who he was first. "Is that... sweet Merlin, it's Harry Potter!" He yelled.  _ Thank goodness _ , Harry thought, as the streets were too loud for him to be heard. But the guards did.

"Is that really... ?"

"Showing up at Gringotts?"

"He must be going into hiding... "

"I can't believe it... "

"Harry!"

They all yelled at once, with the last one being the loudest. The one on the right side closest to door ran to Harry and shook his hand. He pulled off his hood to show bright red hair glinting in the rising sun. It was Bill Weasley.

"What're you doing here? You can't just come waltzing in Diagon Alley like this!" he whispered excitedly. "You'll be swarmed with people all over here—"

"Which is why we want to go into the safety of Gringotts." Harry answered calmly. "I just wanted to go inside to check my vault... and others."

Bill's face dropped as he gasped. "Are you talking about attempting that stunt you pulled last time?" He asked incredulously.

"No," said Harry, still calm, "I'm talking about Sirius's vault."

"Then why did you say, other's'?" Bill countered.

"We have reason to believe that Bellatrix Lestrange's vault belongs to Harry, since she is a member of the Black family, and there are no relatives to her other than Draco Malfoy." Hermione answered, just as pleasant and calm. "But he cannot use his vault, as he is 'on the run'." Hermione said, causing Harry to grin.

Bill nodded at this statement after a few short moments of thinking, then said, "Well, go inside and see what the Goblins say." As they started walking back towards the humongous doors, he started speaking again. "You guys and Ron were on the 'Banned for Life' list immediately after the break-in and Griphook was fired. You were erased from the list and Griphook came back after it was confirmed that you killed Voldemort." Bill said, with little hesitation on the last word. "You broke many rules that day, but you broke many records that day." Bill finished with a huge grin. "I bet the goblins will be happy to see you."

Harry groaned. "Great. I just need to get some Galleons, turn them into pounds, and get out of here."

They'll do it, but they won't be happy about it. And you owe them a dragon." He said teasingly as he let them through the doors.

Harry and Hermione noticed some changes in security immediately. There were wizards all around with magical eyeballs strapped to their forehead, searching frantically for any hidden people. There were black boxes that were held by some goblins, long enough to hold a wand.

"Potter," someone said shrewdly. They looked to the left and saw no one there for a second, then looked down to see a familiar goblin. "What brings you back to Gringotts so soon?" He said with a smile, but they could both hear the venom in his voice.

Harry only smiled. "I'd just like to get some money from my vault. It's nice to see you again, Griphook." The goblin frowned and pulled out the black box. "Please place your wands in this box. You will get them back when you are ready to leave."

Hermione took out her wand and placed it in the box, while Harry followed with both of his.

"Excellent." Said Griphook dully as he closed the box. "Now, I will lead you to your vault." He started walking past the doorway with two aurors guarding it with magical eyes and Harry and Hermione followed him into the cart.

After a moment of speeding past the vaults, he spoke. "As you know, anytime you come to Gringotts, I will escort you to your vault, since I was the first to escort you. Miss Granger, I have never seen you come to Gringotts... as yourself... before. I suspect that you do not have a vault?"

"No. I use pounds and transfer them to Galleons, since I live in the muggle world, technically." Hermione replied.

"Ahh... well then, are you planning on living in the muggle world for the rest of your life?"

"No, the wizarding world."

"I suggest you create a Gringotts vault, then. It would be easier than to keep transferring money."

"Okay... yes, I will do that next time. But right now we're on a busy schedule." Hermione answered, thoughtful about the vault with her name on it.

"Now... onto more important matters... where is my sword?" He said, still not looking back at them.

"Now that it is all over, I can tell you. We needed it for the destruction of Voldemort. It was essential that we destroy his Horcruxes with it." Harry calmly replied.

Griphook's head turned sharply at them, his mouth slightly open. "That's why you broke in... the cup... was a Horcrux?"

Harry and Hermione simply nodded.

"How many others?" He said in a low whisper, as if he was too afraid to know.

"Six," Harry and Hermione answered at the same time.

He was completely silent and almost passed the vault. Then he spoke in a quiver. "Mr. P-Potter, y-your vault will be moved s-soon." At the raised eyebrows of Harry and Hermione in confusion, he added, "Moved to a more secure vault. You will soon receive an Order of Merlin, and you are already  _ very _ wealthy. Your vault will be moving to a secure location. "We'll have vault 713 ready for you soon."

Harry grinned a huge grin, but kept silent. "Your key, Mr. Potter? This will be the last time that you will need it." Harry was thankful that he put the key in his pants pocket the night before, and handed to him. The goblin unlocked the door with a slide of his finger and a turn of the key, and beyond it was thousands and thousands of Galleons with silver, golden-brown, and black sparkling, a few family heirlooms, and a note on a marble stand in the front center that wasn't there before.

Griphook let Harry and Hermione in, and Harry went straight for the note while Hermione slowly walked there, looking around the vault. "Harry, I knew you were wealthy, but this... don't let Ron come to this vault!" she said, awing at the different treasures and mounds that were definitely taller than the Lestrange vault.

"I keep offering him and his family money." Harry said, unfolding the note. "They'll get some Orders of Merlin, anyway. Hermione, look!" He said excitedly, beckoning Hermione to walk faster. She loved it when he looked like that. It made him look so childlike.  _ 'If any one deserves to be a kid again' _ , she thought,  _ 'it's Harry' _ .

As soon as Hermione came to Harry, he handed her the note. She began reading the neat writing, very similar to Hermione's.

_Harry,_

_Happy seventeenth birthday! I really hope that you are living to read it. Well, of course you are among the living if you are reading it. Well, thanks to some ruddy prophesy, we probably might not be alive by now, and we're terribly sorry. As long as you are alive, though, it's worth it. Thanks to the prophesy, though, we knew we were going to die soon, but you would somehow live._

_This Gringotts vault is all yours, now, and if anything happened to 'Padfoot', his vault is yours, also. In the words of your father, 'Use it well.' I'm sure you have gotten the Cloak from Professor Dumbledore in your first year and have used it time and time again to cause mischief, just like your father. I had to set him straight every time, and I hope there is someone like that for you, too._

_We probably have a few birthday presents to make up for, so we have a few presents for you in Professor Dumbledore's possession. If anything were to happen to him (most likely of old age, though), I have left them in either Professors McGonagall's or Flitwik's possession. Professor Binns may still be teaching there also, but he is not one of my favorite teachers. He knows nothing about muggles. He probably thinks they're not important enough. Please don't tell him I said that, though. I was one of his best students (since I was raised by Muggles and understand everything in the class). I might not place it in Professor Slughorn's possession, if he is still there._

_Harry, one day, I know for sure that you will be a very powerful wizard, more powerful than Voldemort. Honestly, you have to be in order to fulfill the prophesy. If we say anything about it in this letter, Dumbledore will probably try to destroy it, and tell you the gist of what it says when you're seventeen, if he remembers what it says. That man is so secretive. I wouldn't be surprised if he tells you about it when it's all over!_

_There is something we should tell you about your dad's... well, yours, now... Invisibility Cloak. All other Cloaks fade over time, but that Cloak has been in the family for generations, he says. I read a story about a Cloak of Invisibility that lasts forever somewhere, when I was little, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, in all the biggest books I can find. I've even read 'The Big Book of Disillusionment and Other Invisibility Items and Spells'. It must be a very special (or very expensive) Cloak. I asked Professor Dumbledore about it, but he just told me not to bring it up with anyone. I'm wondering if it's dangerous or not. It has certainly done nothing but get James and the rest of the 'Marauders' into trouble, so I guess it's safe. Just try not to get into trouble, like your father._

_Your father also left a present for you at Hogwarts, but it involves you having to wear the Invisibility Cloak to get it. Just go to the caretaker's office wearing the Cloak. I'm sure that the caretaker of Hogwarts is still Mr. Filch. Go to the office and look for a piece of parchment in one of the boxes with no words on it. I'm sure they all are labeled in years, so look in the boxes labeled '1978'. It's a blank piece of parchment, but point your wand at it and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' What you see in the title of the parchment are nicknames of the four Marauders. James is 'Prongs', Sirius Black is 'Padfoot', Remus Lupin is 'Moony', and Peter Pettigrew is 'Wormtail'. When you are done looking at what appears on it, say 'Mischief managed'. Although I don't intend for you to be 'managing mischief' at all, I am sure you will be responsible... if you didn't inherit your father's personality. Your father says the only reason he or the other Marauders didn't get it back is because there will be more generations that will need to cause Filch more trouble._

_ As we have said before, we are sure you are an extremely powerful wizard, Harry. After all of the prophesy is fulfilled, we want you to live, Harry, and I mean  ** really ** live. I want you to have fun, play with friends, and most importantly, study for your NEWTS. After you leave Hogwarts, I want you to be happy. I want you to fall in love, get married, have children, (hopefully ones named after me and James) and live a full life. You have the 'power' and the wealth to do it, so do it! _

_And, Harry, please remember this._

_Most kids would hate their parents for leaving them at an early age. We hope that you do not hate us. We love you, and will always love you. Dumbledore says that there will always be a way of contacting us, even when we die. I think he was talking about a portrait or pensieve memories. It just isn't the same, though. I wish there was some way to talk to you directly. I would love to get the chance to see you again, but if there is no other way except the obvious, We can wait a couple-hundred years._

_ And we will be very proud of you if you fulfilled the prophesy in a good  ** or ** bad way. We know you'll make the right decision. _

_With lots and lots of love,_

_Lily Evans Potter_

_P.S.—If you want to know anything about us, try looking at Sirius Black's or Remus Lupin's memories in a pensieve. We also left a lot of memories of our Hogwarts years in Dumbledore's possession, and I had Professor McGonagall count all of the memories and place a detection charm on the phials in case the Headmaster tries to tamper with it, as she had done on the presents._

Hermione felt a tear coming down her eye. She looked over to Harry, who also had tears, but was smiling at the letter. After another moment of silence, Hermione spoke.

"Are you all right, Harry?" She put an arm around her shoulder, as he put an arm around her waist.

"Yeah," he said. "For the first time, I mean it when I say 'I'm fine'." He chuckled a bit.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Harry said with a grin. He let go of Hermione and started walking towards the mounds of Galleons. Hermione followed and put the note in her pocket. "I'll keep it in my pocket, okay?"

"Alright. So, what's the currency for Galleons-to-pounds anyway?" Harry asked, picking up a handful of Galleons.

Griphook was still waiting outside, and heard the question. "I have a card right here for the currency." The Goblin walked inside the vault and handed the card to Hermione.

"I see... " Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "A Galleon is approximately 5 pounds, but there is this one coin I have never seen before. It's called a Pluno, and apparently, its worth is fifty Galleons!"

Griphook walked over to the mounds and pulled out what seemed to be a black half-dollar, and it had this weird dazzling effect to it. " _ This _ is a Pluno, and it would never get dirty, like the other coins. You have quite a number of these, Mr. Potter. Even most Order of Merlin, First Class wizards and witches have never laid eyes on these."

Harry nodded at this, a little shocked, and picked up a Pluno. That's when he realized that he did notice a lot of black sparkles in the mounds of gold. "It just feels... different," Harry said. "It feels smoother than the other coins. Why have I never seen them before?"

"Because these are very rare... " Hermione said slowly. "It must be, seeing as I have never seen them before."

"Well, we can't stuff the bag with Plunos and Galleons, because when we turn them into pounds, it would look like we robbed a bank when we take some out." Harry said, getting back to the task at hand.

"I can take care of that," Griphook said. "What is your favorite color?" Griphook asked the two of them.

While Harry answered brown, Hermione answered green. "Excellent choice," he said, this time with a genuine smile. He reached into his left pocket and pulled out two wallets, one brown, and one green. He handed each one to them. Harry and Hermione felt them and awed at the feel of the wallet. It was harder than leather, but smoother than polyester. It was probably dragon hide.

"Consider it as a gift," Griphook continued, "as I for one would like to thank you for killing that foul excuse for a being, even as a wizard. You drop the Galleons or Plunos you need into the wallet. It will hold as much as you need, and not as much as you want, so you can be conservative, so just pour the Galleons in until it pours over. As you open it when you need to purchase something, the exact amount that you need shall be there, in the currency you need. When you are low on money, the wallet will start warming up, and when you are completely out, the wallet will be very cold and eventually frost will appear on it. If you are reckless about spending money, or you won't be able to visit Gringotts a lot, we can enchant these wallets to do the same, except there is a direct link to your vault, so the wallet will automatically refill itself."

Harry and Hermione were awed at the wallets' capabilities. They weren't sure which ones to get. Hermione decided that she should keep the wallet she has now, while Harry decided to have his enchanted, since he doesn't know how long they'll be gone. Griphook performed a charm in Gobbledygook that only a Gringotts goblin could perform on the wallet. Harry put his wallet in his pocket and looked around the front of the vault again.

After Harry cheekily persuaded Hermione (who didn't want Harry's money) with words such as "Remember when you told me we're in this together, and to accept when others help you?" and "You and Ron have a lot in common." She immediately began filling up the wallet, which kept emptying every time she looked away.

When the Plunos and Galleons started running over, she poured the coins that were still visible out and put the wallet in her pocket. They thanked Griphook for the wallets as they looked around the safe once more. Harry saw something shimmering in the back of the vault, but he had no time to look at it. They had some shopping to do.

Griphook led them back toward the main entrance and handed them their wands. "Come back anytime," he said, "just make sure we know it's you. And you owe us a dragon."

Harry and Hermione thanked him again and left. Harry wrapped his hand around Hermione's shoulders with minimal awkwardness and walked outside with the cloak on. Bill was still out there watching the crowd for anyone suspicious. After the war ended, Bill thought it was best for the family to stick together for now so they could all grieve together, so he moved from Egypt's to London's Gringotts.

They walked out to the sidewalk and Harry asked Hermione, "Where do you want to go? I don't really know any stores to go to, or any alleyways to apparate in."

Hermione took out her list. "Well, first, we need some new clothes. You definitely need some." She added, seeing as he never went shopping before. "I know the perfect place." She put the list back in her pocket and a few seconds later, when the air returned to their lungs, they were at the storage room of a department store.

Harry took a hold of Hermione's hand, causing a warmth that flooded through both of them in the cold and dark closet, and they started to walk, but Hermione stopped abruptly.

"Harry, what were you laughing about at the vault?"

Harry formed one of his lopsided grins that made her knees incredibly weak. Thankfully, it was too dark for him to see. "You didn't notice?" He asked. "The smartest witch in our year—or anyone's year, for that matter—didn't notice what I was laughing about?" Hermione, who's cheeks turned pink after the greatest compliment she had received in ages, shook her head. "What?"

"I'm just amazed at how much like my mother you are." Harry said, chuckling.

Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "How? I'm a muggleborn, like she is, and I was a prefect, but I don't see anything else."

Harry laughed some more and pulled off the cloak, still holding Hermione's hand. "You have no idea how similar you two are."

As they walked out of the closet into the department store, still holding hands, Harry was reviewing the note in his mind.

_'Maybe... dad and I go for the same women.'_


	6. Loyalty Beyond Measure for Harry's Greatest Treasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter. I hate it so much. And when you read it, you'll hate it too.  
> I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry.
> 
> Just keep in mind that Hermione Granger is still being played by Emma Watson. Some people are just stupid in their perceptions. Like me.

Ron was waiting in his room, watching Harry's snitch fly around, and occasionally trying to catch it. It was now almost eight, and he hasn't seen Harry or Hermione yet. He knew that Harry only liked Hermione as a friend, he heard Harry say it himself;  _ "I love Hermione like a sister." _ He said. Ron started thinking, ' _ What if he only said that to make me feel better? _ '

And then he heard it. A gentle pop outside, He ran up to the window and, for a moment, saw nothing but the glowing orange of the sunset. Then he saw two people appear out of thin air. Harry was holding the Cloak, while Hermione was holding something small and green that slowly turned into her large, black bag. She was staring at the Burrow, looking exhausted. She was also wearing new clothes. Harry was, too. They slowly made their way back to the house, leaning on each other. Hermione was leaning on Harry more than necessary, but his face only showed tiredness.

They finally reached the door and Harry knocked. Ron quickly ran downstairs, but Fleur beat him to it, as she was opening the door when he reached the bottom of the steps.

He saw her hug each of them until he heard a firm snap. She wasn't at all affected by the fact that Harry broke up with Ginny. In fact, after she heard that news, she called her little sister and one of Harry Potter's many fans and 'rescuees', Gabrielle Delacour. The entire house could hear the little blonde's scream, even though there were silencing charms on the walls.

When she was finished hugging them, she told them that she was fixing dinner. Molly didn't cook as much since she heard of both of the couples' break-ups, and the food just didn't have that special taste anymore. She hadn't made treacle tart since then, also. She was just holed up in her room, sulking and grieving.

They saw Ron and they both gave a little wave and smiled. As they walked by him, Harry whispered, "We'll talk in your room," and went slowly up the stairs, exhausted, as Ron quickly followed.

When they reached the room and closed the door, they were flooded with questions from Ron.

"Where did you go? What took you so long? Did you see Sirius' vault? What did you guys buy? Did you—?"

"Ron!" They both yelled to silence him in unison, and Ron quickly shut up. Harry and Hermione answered his questions in a way that eerily reminded him of Fred and George, continuing where the other left off.

Harry answered the first question. "First, we went to Gringotts. We read a letter that was left from my mum that must have appeared on my seventeenth Birthday." Hermione took out the note and handed it to Ron, but Ron put it aside for now. He wanted to hear what happened.

"Then, we went to a department store, to get muggle clothes and toiletries." Hermione explained next. At the look of confusion on Ron's face, Hermione cleared things up.

"Like a toothbrush, soap, washing rags, —"

"—A razor." Harry added. Ron nodded at this, but asked, "So, you guys aren't using wands  _ at all _ ?"

"Of course we'll use a  _ little _ magic," Hermione asked, "but the places we go to have to look normal, don't they?

"We went to other places, to buy sunscreen, tanning oil, beach towels, and sunshades." She continued, pulling out each one in her bag as she said so. Ron looked amazedly at the sunshades, while Harry formed a smirk at the tanning oil. Fortunately, Hermione did not notice Harry's reaction, as she was still looking in the bag.

Harry continued, "Of course we had to stop a few places to eat during the day."

"As we didn't eat breakfast this morning…"

"We saw Bill at the bank…"

"And we met Griphook…"

"He's not mad at us, by the way…"

"And he gave us a wallet." Hermione added, pulling a wallet out of her pocket and handed it to Ron. Ron frowned a bit, knowing why she chose the color green. Before he could ask if Harry got one, Harry answered another of Ron's earlier questions. "We didn't have time to ask about Sirius's vault. Or Bellatrix's."

Hermione started unloading the bag. "We got a lot of clothes, though. I guess I got carried away," she said as she only took out half of the clothes, yet the entire bed was piling up with clothes. At one of the stores they were shopping, Hermione sneaked some of the shirts that she promised herself she would get for Harry when he wasn't looking, so she put them behind the pile, so Ron nor Harry will notice.

"We also went to the airport to get tickets for the plane," Hermione said as she pulled out two tickets and put one of them on the dresser by the lamp next to Harry's bed.

Hermione continued. "We also dropped by the Wizarding Post Office in Diagon Alley. They gave us Muggle Passports with just a wave of a wand over us. To them, it's only a book who says who we are and the other half was for inkblots. They even offered to fill in the other half of the book for Harry and me with stamps from other countries, because they wouldn't be standing without us." She finished with a smile.

"We bought some regular binoculars for the sights in Australia," Harry explained as he pulled out two expensive and large looking glasses (from Ron's point of view).

"We went back to Diagon Alley after all the shopping," Hermione continued, now done with unpacking the clothes, but there were other items in the bag. "We stopped by Quality Quidditch Supplies." She said, smirking as she saw Ron's jaw drop.

"Hermione Granger…went into a store…that sells only everything Quidditch? Hermione Granger didn't go into a store that sells quills?" Ron asked incredulously.

Hermione held her temper. "For your information, Ronald, I did buy some quills." After seeing a smirk on Ron's face, she smirked herself as she thought of the reaction Ron will have when she said the next sentence. "However, Harry did get me a broom." She was rewarded with an even worse face than she expected. Ron's jaw was at his chest when she pulled out a short, sterling silver broom.

Harry introduced the broom. "It's the Second Generation Firebolt. Just came out for a tribute to Voldemort's death. I have one, too." He pulled out a gold one and a dark red one. "I got one for you, too, Ron, but you always turn my gifts down, so I could save it for Christmas." Harry grinned as Ron got up and ran to the red one before he even finished.

The broom was incredibly smooth, sleek, and shiny. Just touching it made you feel as if you were already flying; happy and content, like there is nothing else that you want to do but fly all day. Ron would have been truly happy if he wasn't mad about Harry buying Hermione her first broom. He wasn't going to say that, though. After all, he just bought him a broom.

"You don't have to wait till bloody Christmas!" Said Ron, giddy about his new broom. "But I swear I'll still pay you back."

"Ron, you don't have to. I'm rich!" Harry said, exasperated. Hermione thought of all of the money in her wallet as she opened it. Galleons started pouring out of her wallet onto the bed, to show that Harry was, indeed, very rich. Ron's mouth was almost watering at the sight of the big gold coins pouring out like a waterfall (Hermione decided not to think of the Plunos falling for obvious reasons).Ron never actually knew how rich Harry was. The only times he saw Harry with a lot of money was on their annual (almost) train rides to Hogwarts, when Harry usually pulls out a small pouch and buys a bunch of foodand sweets for everyone in the compartment. The only other time was at the Quidditch World Cup, where he bought the Omnioculars.

He finally spoke a few minutes after the Galleons were done falling. "Bl…blo…BLOODY HELL!" He finally managed to yell.

"See, Ron?" Harry said. "I'm not going to live in a cardboard box when I give you money. That's only about 1 percent!" He scooped up the Galleons and put some in the wallet. He left a few on the bed for Ron and handed the wallet back to Hermione.

"We went to see a muggle movie at the end of the day," Hermione said as she put the wallet in her pocket. "It was a Star Wars movie. It was pretty good, compared to the others."

Harry grinned. "I didn't watch the other movies, so I can't compare notes, but it was still a really good movie." He said as his grin was replaced with a frown and laid back on the bed. "Then something very…unpleasant happened."

"Like what?" Ron asked as he wiped the drool from his face. Part of him wanted Harry to say that Hermione kissed him and he almost threw up.

Harry started with a sigh. "Well…after the movie…."

_Harry and Hermione were walking down the street from the movie theatre at about seven. As soon as they left, they didn't notice that they grabbed each other's hand. Hermione transfigured her black bag into a purse that she saw in one of the department stores._

_ "Star Wars was made  ** that ** long ago?" Harry asked, deep in conversation with Hermione. _

_"I told you the classics are the best." She replied, laughing at Harry's enthusiacticity of going to a movie theatre. She thought in her mind, 'Is this a date? He's holding my hand.' She slyly looked down her arm to see her hand linked with Harry's and brightly smiled. She was honored and saddened that the first time Harry went to the movie theatre, it was with her on a possible date._

_And that's when it happened._

_A man casually walked up to them, wearing a black cotton jacket with a hood on and hands in his baggy, blue-jean pockets. Harry and Hermione looked suspiciously at him; the sun was still up and it was very warm out, even though it was late. He was on their side of the sidewalk, not bothering to move on the other side to let them pass. They moved to the other side, but a second later, he walked on their side. They were about ten feet apart. They moved to the side again, only to have him accompany their side. Five feet apart. Harry and Hermione tried one more time, and this time he stayed on his side of the sidewalk. As they tried to walk past him, he stopped at Harry's side and said something that stopped them both in their tracks._

_"Stop or you'll die."_

_ He pulled one of his hands out of his pocket. His hand was holding a black gun with a strange pipe attached to it. He pointed it at Harry's side, who seemed unphased. He has stared death in the face many times, and has been the closest to death any one has ever gone just almost 2 weeks ago. But he'll be damned if he was killed by a muggle, when he just defeated the most powerful  ** magical ** person in the world. _

_ Harry's wands were in his back pocket, but made no move to get it. One slip-up, and he will die, and he will definitely turn to Hermione to silence her. That was the only thing in Harry's mind that was keeping him from doing something to this guy. He couldn't even let him touch Hermione. If he does, Harry will definitely have enough hatred for the  _ Avada Kedavra _. _

_Hermione's heart stopped when she saw the gun being pointed at Harry, and immediately went stiff. It felt like the TriWizard Tournament all over again. Harry felt that Hermione's hand had gone rigid and squeezed it firmly, to say that he's alright._

_"What do you want?" Harry asked in a bored tone._

_"I want your bloody money…and your girlfriend." He said, pointing his gun at Hermione for a half-second, then turned it back to Harry._

_"Why don't you harass someone else?" Asked Harry, a little more angrily, not correcting him on the 'girlfriend' statement, as he was too enraged at the fact that he just pointed the gun at her, even if for a fraction of a second._

_"Because I know you have money." He explained in a low growl. "The purse looks expensive…hand it over."_

_Hermione was about to let the bag slide down her arm, feeling scared for Harry, but Harry let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, securing the exquisite green leather purse from slipping down and pulling her closer to him._

_"And what if we don't?" Asked Harry bravely._

_"Then I'll kill you," he said simply, "and take your girlfriend." He looked over to Hermione, then turned back to Harry, who's hand was fingering his wand in his back pocket by now. "She's not very pretty, but worth at least a good shag, then I'll steal the money and kill her." He said with a toothy grin._

_ It happened in barely a second. Harry had taken his wand out and pointed it at him, sparks flying out of it, like a gun, which stunned the man for a moment, who thought he was just shot. He silently cast a weak _ 'Expelliarmus' _ at him, knocking the gun out of his hand. He then pointed the wand at him and said,  _ "Crucio!" _ with an extremely hateful and a bitter voice. The man started screaming as Harry took his blackthorn wand out of his front pocket and placed a nonverbal  _ 'Silencio'  _ spell at him, while still holding the curse. Harry couldn't believe what he said…and right in front of her. He was going to pay for what he said! _

_Hermione was looking in horror, shock, and amazement. She was horrified at the look of pure anger on Harry's face, when he was content just a minute ago. She was shocked by the horrible thing that the awful man said about her. She didn't want to believe him, but she didn't think she was exactly 'beautiful'. She thought she barely passed as pretty. She always thought Ron thought of her that way, and she also thought that she wasn't pretty enough for Harry to notice her. But the pure anger in Harry's face when the man said she wasn't pretty left her slightly confused._

_ She was amazed at the fact that not only was Harry able to cast three spells at the same time, but was able to perform two of them nonverbally.  _ 'He really has gotten stronger over the year' _ , she told herself. _

_After ten seconds of silent screaming, Harry lifted the curse off of him. The man was sweating terribly and looked as if he was whimpering. He was also wide-eyed at the shock of him being in an extreme pain just from a boy that was holding two sticks. "Tell her you're sorry," Harry said in a cold, hard voice. He took off the silencing spell and waited for him to speak. "I-I-I…I'm sorry," He finally spoke, barely in a whisper. Harry placed his dragon heartstring-core wand back in his pocket and put his arm around Hermione's waist. He pointed his phoenix feather-core wand at him and said,_ " _Obliviate!_ "

_The last thing that Hermione saw before Harry threw the cloak around them and turned on the spot to dissapparate was the vacant emptiness in the man's eyes, as if he never knew anything._

Of course Harry had to edit some things. Instead of Harry saying 'your girlfriend', he said 'the girl', and he didn't mention that he held Hermione's hand. Ron was amazed and disappointed at the same time. The calmness of Harry through the ordeal; the pure rage that leapt out of him when he said those words: the nonverbal spells and the Cruciatis curse that he performed; and the memory deleting spell he placed on the man that he never even attempted to do before; impressed Hermione all the more, as he was doing it all for her. Of course any friend would have done the same. Hermione probably misunderstood, though.

He wished that Harry would end this charade with Hermione so she could have common sense so she could realize who she really loves. ' _ Forget what Ginny said _ ,' he kept telling himself,  _ 'she just has a crush on the hero, like every other girl. Why can't Hermione see that?' _

When Harry was finished, Ron blurted, "How do you know how to use a memory charm?"

Harry had a slightly sadistic grin. "I used Lockhart's wand movements. That was the only spell he was good at, wasn't it? And, to tell you the truth, I was trying to delete all of his memory."

Ron gauged Hermione's reaction. Usually, she would cluck on and on about doing the right thing the right way, and how he better be lucky that the Ministry was in a bit of a problem, or he would've been caught. But this Hermione did something that he never expected. She laughed.

"He really did deserve it, though." She then changed the topic. "Too bad I can't try out the broom tomorrow. Today was too much for me." She finished by leaning back on Harry's bed. Harry grinned. "Should we postpone the trip for a day, then?"

Hermione stifled a yawn. "No…I think we should leave tomorrow, as planned."

Harry shrugged and pointed his wand at the clothes. "Hermione, remember the Cinderella movie commercial we watched earlier today? I've always wanted to do that, you know, see if it works." Hermione could guess what he was about to do, and sat back up as Ron was puzzled. "Harry," she asked, "are you going to do a repeat of Cinderella's Godmother?"

Harry smirked. "Yep. I don't know if it'll work though. I remember the wand movements." He focused his wand on the clothes and said the 'incantation'.

" _Bibbidi…Bobbidi…Boo_!"

Amazingly, the clothes started slowly lift up and start to form a line, folding back up as Harry was waving his wand. He couldn't believe he was doing it, but he didn't stop waving his wand, in case it would cease if he stopped waving. Hermione was just as amazed as he was. She didn't believe the spell would really work. Ron was amazed, also. "How are you levitating all of the clothes in a line like that?"

Harry's smirk went wider when the clothes straightened out and landed perfectly in the bag, creating two neat stacks in the large space of the seemingly small bag. "I'm not telling you until you watch the movie, Ron," he replied. When Harry finished, Hermione was still staring at him in shock. Thinking that she should research more of this newfound, but not-so-hidden spell when they were in New Zealand, she zipped the bag up and placed it on the floor. "Well, I might as well stay up a little bit longer. I'll have twenty-one hours to sleep, after all." She sat up in the bed.

"The sun is down, but it's still warm out." She said, waiting for them to come to their own conclusion. As she guessed, Harry was able to know what she was thinking and ran to his new golden Firebolt II and out the room. When Harry grabbed the broom, Ron finally figured out what Hermione was implying. He got up with the red broom still in his hand and ran out. Hermione got up and walked towards the door, broom in hand, but then looked back. Still, on Ron's bed, was the letter that Lily Potter wrote for Harry. She walked over to the bed and sat down on it, picking up the letter as she did so.

She remembered when Harry said that she was very much like Lily. She wanted to know what he meant by that. Did he think of her as his mum?  _ Do I really nag him that much? _ She unfolded the letter and read again. As she keeps reading, her mind processes. ' _ I know we have some similarities, but…oh my…she started a sentence with 'honestly'…she had to set James straight in school…she made sure that him and his friends didn't get into much trouble…she dislikes Professor Binns…she's the top in his class…she's the top in every class…' _

As Hermione kept comparing her to Lily, she didn't notice Harry coming back into the room and sitting down next to her. He could guess that Hermione was thinking of their similarities. He leaned over and whispered into his ear, which made her shiver.

"She was known as the smartest witch in her year, too."

Hermione beamed, but didn't look up. It was amazing how he could easily figure out what she was thinking. Hermione could also do that to Harry, but she always thought it was obvious what he was thinking, yet she didn't know anyone else who did that.

"Harry?" She asked, still not looking up.

"Hmm?" he asked, still looking at the note.

"When that guy said all that stuff…"

"About you not being pretty?" Harry asked, looking up at her. "Are you trying to believe him?"

"I'm not trying to, but—"

"You really think that, don't you? You honestly think that you're not pretty?" He asked incredulously. He hesitantly nodded a little. "You  _ are very _ pretty," Harry said, his cheeks pink.

"Come on, Harry, are you just saying that?" Hermione asked, her voice slowly getting lower until it became a whisper.

Harry answered with a whisper of his own. "You are one of the prettiest girls that I know, Hermione. What do I have to say to make sure that you know I mean it?"

Hermione was speechless. Harry called her pretty. He was the first boy to ever call her 'pretty'. She doesn't think that Harry would say something that he didn't mean, other than 'I'm fine', but she didn't know anything at the moment.

After a moment, she finally spoke. "Thanks, Harry." She looked up to Harry and hugged him. She's been doing that a lot, lately. "How come you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

"Well, even though I wasn't only saying that to make you feel better, as I was just telling you the truth. I could ask the same thing with you, though. I guess it's because we've known each other for seven years, then?" He asked with a cheeky grin that made her heart jump up and down.

"Yeah…I guess." Said Hermione as she was deep in thought, once again. She knew that she and Harry always had a sort of connection, almost like they can read each other's mind. Ron didn't have that connection with either of them, and he's known them for just as long. Was it because Ron never paid attention?

She quickly forgot about her thought when Harry took her hand in his and gently tugged.

"Hermione, you've been thinking too much for today. Let's go race," He said as she finally got up and followed him. The were still holding hands until they reached the bottom of the steps and stepped outside to see a red streak of light zooming across the Burrow. Apparently, the broom glows in the dark when ridden on. Harry and Hermione quickly mounted their Firebolt II and sped off into the sky, gold and silver joining red. The original had nothing on this; it was almost twice as fast and much easier to handle, to Hermione's delight. The design looked sleeker, but could still take the look of a regular broom. Silver, gold, and red light filled the sky like a brilliant lasershow.

Hermione was smiling brightly, and not because of the SG Firebolt she was riding. She thought of what she was going to do tomorrow. She was going on another adventure with Harry. Ron wasn't coming. She no longer had any feelings for the redhead. Just a few minutes ago, Harry called her pretty (she didn't know if he was saying that to make her feel better, but it surely worked). She added all of this together. Her smile faltered a bit. She couldn't add it up. She was afraid that she'll get the wrong answer. She'll just have to…let fate decide.

Harry was also smiling a smile that could damage his face if any more teeth showed. He wasn't paying attention to flying. He was thinking about the trip he was going on with Hermione. Her parents are his first priority, but he hoped that he could be closer to Hermione during the journey. He really thought that he saw a connection between them when Ron left, even though Hermione was crying over Ron most of the time. He had spent more time with her; they had even held hands when they went to Godric's Hollow. He had almost completely forgotten about Ginny. And Hermione had completely stopped crying over Ron…until he came back. And then the damned locket opened.

Harry was crushed when he saw that sight. He wanted that kiss to very much happen, but he couldn't just do that to his best mate, who just then, had saved his life. He had to drop all of his more-than-friends thoughts of Hermione then and there once again, distancing himself from her again as he did so. And when he saw Hermione kiss Ron, he instantly felt that his heart had disapparated, never to return. Harry was devastated, but tried to smile, even tried to make a joke to cheer himself up. And then he thought of Ginny when he saw her run from the Room of Requirement. She loved him; he couldn't just break her feelings. Maybe, in time, he would grow to love her, too?

But after Hermione broke up with Ron, and Harry broke with Ginny, they had a clear path. Harry felt the feelings he had for her two years ago that mysteriously disappeared had returned two-fold during that earlier encounter. Something powerful spurred in Harry's chest, much larger than the monster that died away. He wasn't even sure what it was. Was it…was it love? Harry didn't know what love meant, but he knew that he cared more about Hermione more than any other person in the world, even himself. It is a very good possibility that it is a feeling light-years beyond 'like'. ' _ But does  ** she ** even like me like that?' _

While Ron was still flying, grinning madly for obvious reasons, the other two were deep in thought. They both came to a conclusion at the same time.

_I'll just have to see what happens._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermione Granger is played by Emma Watson. Re-stressing that. Like, what the hell is wrong with me?


	7. And We're Off!

Harry and Hermione woke up early the following morning at the same time, as they set their alarm charm for quarter-past four. They quickly got dressed in their new clothes and Harry packed some wand holsters he bought yesterday, as Hermione bought a few books. The bag space was enlarged some more to fit everything in. Harry and Hermione put gum and earplugs in their pockets for take-off and landing. They placed their tickets securely in their pockets. They completely filled the suitcase and Harry put his wand in his long Khaki cargo's pocket, along with his Invisibility Cloak. They were ready.

The Weasleys were lined up at half-past four, each ready to hug them until they couldn't breathe. George was the first one, and hugged Harry and Hermione. He was about to say a joke about them going to another country and skipping to different apartments and hotels, but decided against it. It just wasn't the same without Fred saying the other half of the joke.

Ginny was next, hugging Harry and Hermione at the same time, so it would be less awkward for Harry and Ginny. Ron was next, hugging Hermione a second longer than necessary. He turned to Harry and hugged him, patting him on the back.

"Get us something from Australia, alright, mate?" Ron asked. After seeing how much money Harry had, he felt more comfortable when he asked of this. He was still a little bit uncomfortable with Harry and Hermione, but he had nothing to worry about; Harry's too bloody loyal for his own good.

"You bet," Harry said after one more pat on the back. He walked over to Bill, who was finished hugging Hermione. "See you, Bill." Harry said as he hugged Bill, who was his size.

"You probably won't. I might be in Egypt by the time you get back." Bill explained. Hermione heard what he said, and hugged Fleur harder. They had gotten closer over the year.

Harry let go, and with one more grateful smile, moved on to Fleur. She was still hugging Hermione, but put one arm out and hugged him, too. "You two 'ave a great treep, and I 'ope you can find your fozer ond mozer soon." She said enthusiastically, kissing both of them on each cheek. Harry didn't phase; usually he would blush a little (even when he was with Ginny) and seem uncomfortable. Fleur looked at Harry in shock and curiosity for a second, but Harry didn't notice, as he was heading towards Charlie. Charlie hugged them both fiercely, as he was shorter than them both, but much stronger. "I might be gone, too, so goodbye!" was all he said before he let them go.

Next in line was - could they believe it - Percy. It was quite awkward for all three of them. They both read the paper that Percy sent Ron three years ago, telling him to 'sever ties' with Harry and to be more faithful to Umbridge. They didn't know if Percy knew that they read it, but decided to let that go. Harry, as calmly as he could, walked over to Percy and shook his hand. That hand shake meant two things for Percy;  _ I forgive you _ and  _ goodbye _ . Percy put his hand on his shoulder and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry', and Harry immediately mouthed the words 'it's alright'. Harry let go of his hand as Percy's hand slumped to his side.

Harry walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (for the first time in two days, she left her room to see them off), who both had sad smiles on their faces and Mrs. Weasley had her eyes red-rimmed. She was still pretty upset at Harry and Hermione for breaking their youngest ones' hearts (Mr. Weasley was disappointed, but not incredibly so) although Ginny was dating someone else and seemed happy about it. Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry and Hermione loosely, not the huge, crushing hugs she used to give to Harry every time she saw him. She had no snacks to give to Harry and Hermione, no Treacle tarts to go, not even a goodbye. Just a hug. Mr. Weasley gave them a handshake. He would usually give a hard, enthusiastic handshake to Harry, sometimes bringing Harry into a hug. But today, he gave them two shakes of his hand and let them go. Harry was about to go mad.  _ Why are they still angry with me? _

Hermione sensed his inner turmoil and waved to everyone before he snapped at them, or she herself did. "Bye, I hope we can find them and see you all soon!" Harry joined her in waving. They all waved back as soon as Hermione and Harry walked outside, with the bag in his hand. They almost crossed the boundaries before the pair was tackled by an orange furball.

"Crookshanks, it'll be alright, we'll come back soon," Hermione laughed as the half-kneazle kept licking her face. He then moved over to Harry and licked his face. This was the first time that Hermione realized that Crookshanks likes Harry a lot more than Ron. Could it be a hint? ' _ Crookshanks was always right in the past,' _ she thought with a smile as she got up.

Crookshanks continued licking Harry's face a few more seconds until Hermione lifted his up and rubbed her belly for a moment. Harry stood up, grinning and pointed his wand at his face. The small dribble on his cheeks disappeared without him saying a word.

Hermione looked at Harry in shock. When she let Crookshanks on the ground to go back into the house, she decided not to comment, but she was still amazed at how much more powerful he was.

"Do you remember what the parking lot looks like?" She asked as they got past the anti-disapparation wards.

"Well, I do remember... but what if we dissapparate and appear inside a car... or worse...  _ mold _ with a car?"

Hermione shuddered at that thought. "I never thought of that."

"Is the student surpassing the teacher," Harry asked in fake surprise.

Hermione smacked him playfully on the arm. "Fat chance of that."

"I suggest that we disillusion ourselves and fly to the airport." Said Harry, remembering what he did in fifth year. Hermione nodded. "That could definitely work. Brilliant idea, Harry!" she said as she put an arm around him and hugged his side. The night air didn't seem so cool anymore.

When Hermione pulled back, Harry pulled out his wand. "I hope I know how to do this." He rapped himself on the head, and once again felt as if an egg was cracked on him, as he felt the familiar trickling sensation down his head and body. Hermione gasped.

"What? I'm not invisible?" He asked as he looked at his hand. He could see a clear outline of a hand and the grass under it, so he guessed it worked.

"You're invisible... it's just... do you know how tricky and advanced that spell is?" Asked Hermione, eyes widened.

"I copied Moody's wand movement," explained Harry, completely flustered. "It wasn't exactly hard. I just hit myself on the head and thought, 'I hope I disappear'." Hermione stared in disbelief. She could see barely Harry, but not from a distance, like ten feet. He was completely clear, as if he were a moving, talking, plastic body. It was the best disillusionment charm she had ever seen. She just couldn't believe how he made himself completely transparent. She had to try it, too. She hadn't done that spell in a while.

She closed her eyes and rapped herself on the head, and she also felt trickling down her. She smiled to herself. She had done it, too. As she immediately opened her eyes and saw an outline of Harry looking down at her legs, the small line between his invisible lips in a frown. She slowly looked down and frowned, herself; her lower half was still semi-visible. There were a few trickles going down her legs, so only those small sections were unseen. Suddenly she felt a very soft tap on her stomach, and trickles started coming down again until she was completely disillusioned.

Hermione's mind was in disbelief. She just could not believe what Harry did. It was absolutely perfect! He let her do it herself; he waited a few seconds to see if her spell worked; when the trickling stopped, he placed the spell on her again so she wouldn't be frustrated that he could do it his first time and she almost forgot. He was so sincere, which made her love him all the more.

Harry took the brooms out of the bag and disillusioned them both. He gave the silver one (he checked before he disillusioned it) to Hermione along with the bag. He mounted his own golden Firebolt II and waited for Hermione to transfigure the bag into a cell phone. "Does it actually work?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, Harry, it doesn't work." Hermione said. "I just made it look like one." She placed the phone in her transparent pocket and mounted her broom.

"Ready?" Harry asked. "Ready," Hermione confirmed.

They kicked off the ground, and in seconds, they were high above the Burrow, looking at the Weasley's. They must have been there the whole time, for they were all either grinning, frowning, teeth clenching, or mixed expressions. They both blushed. Apparently, the moonlight, shined on their outlines from a close range. Harry looked for Ginny's expression while Hermione looked for Ron's. Ron's teeth were scraping each other, his fist clenched, but his expression softened after a second _. That was a friendly hug _ , He thought, trying to calm himself down.  _ There's nothing wrong with that _ .

Ginny had a shocked expression on her face, about to erupt, until she saw the calm expression on Ron's face, a microsecond after he calmed down. She then smiled a little. It looked like Ron was getting over

Harry then looked over to Ron, while Hermione looked over to Ginny - right when their expressions changed. They looked content. They smiled to themselves and flew off into the early dawn.

After a while, Hermione started shivering from the night air; she didn't bring a coat. Harry noticed this and flew over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his hand up and down her arm. Hermione quickly warmed up when he touched her. Harry's hands were so warm to her, even in the sky. He took off his jacket and handed it to Hermione. "You need it more than I do!" He yelled over the wind. She slowed down and gratefully put on the jacket and loved the feel of it touching her skin. It almost felt as if Harry was holding her. She looked up to see an airport. "Harry," she warned, "we're here."

Harry nodded, grinning. "Do you want to land like airplanes on the stretch?" He asked playfully.

Hermione checked her watch. "Sorry, Harry, we don't have time. The plane starts boarding at six, and we have thirty minutes left."

"Where should we land?"

"Anywhere. They can't see us and we don't need parking spaces."

"We'll land at the entrance, then, alright?"

"Alright."

They sped up and leaned in like a perfectly coordinated team. They were speeding towards the airport, racing like mad. Hermione lifted up when she was twenty feet up, but Harry went down eighteen more feet and pulled up at the last second, the tips of his new sneakers and his kneepads slightly scuffing the ground.

Harry came back up to join Hermione, whose eyes were wide and jaw dropped. "Now _ that _ is a Wronski Feint!" Harry said, grinning madly. Hermione eventually came out of her shock and smiled along with him and they both (slowly) landed on the pavement in front of the entrance. They went into an alley on the side and illusioned themselves. Harry asked for the cell phone.

He used his wand to transfigure it back into the bag and illusioned the brooms. He placed the brooms carefully into the bag and quickly closed the zipper. "Now all we have to do is think of... a plan." A slow smile spread across his face, as if he thought of the perfect plan. He quickly transfigured the bag into... a roach.

"Why did you turn it into a roach?" She asked, baffled and disgusted as he pointed his wand at the roach once more.

"You'll see," was all he said before he charmed the roach in a loud whisper. " _ Confundo _ !"

The roach became still and turned to him as if waiting for instructions. "You will stay in my pocket until we reach the metal detector." He said calmly. "You will leave my pocket and go around the detector." He pulls the boarding pass out of his pocket and reads. "You will go straight to... gate two-seventeen, and join us between the seats that we go to when we arrive. You have thirty minutes. Understand?" Harry asked nicely. He then placed a shield charm and a sticking charm on the roach. He took the cloak out of his pocket and gingerly pulled Hermione's wand out of her pocket, who was still in shock at what he was doing. He wrapped the cloak around the wands, so they were invisible, and placed the wrapped up wands on the back. The roach quickly crawled out of Harry's hands and went straight into his large cargo pocket, the invisible wands still on its back.

Hermione was speechless, once again. ' _ Where is all this coming from? Harry used the confundus charm on a roach and found a way to conceal our wands!' _ "Harry... " she finally spoke, "... that... was  _ genius _ ! How did you think of that?"

Harry blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know how I do most of the stuff I did in my life." Harry explained, smiling briefly. Hermione smiled brightly and took his hand, making Harry go redder. They walked into the airport entrance.

"Why did you place a shield charm on the roach?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, if the roach gets stepped on, our stuff will get crushed, won't it? Now, if anyone tries to step on it, their foot will slide on the shield and... well, the only bad part is they might slip and fall."

"It's still a wonderful plan, Harry. I'm sure it will work." She said as she squeezed his hand firmly. Harry then smiled and walked on calmly, now certain that his plan would work.

Hermione was right - as always - the plan did work. They went through the metal detector without any luggage... as far as the guards were concerned. The roach came out at exactly the right time, crawling around the metal detectors and luggage checks and throughout the hallways looking for the gate to their plane. Harry spotted it with his Seeker abilities, crawling on the ceiling. They followed their luggage, knowing it was going in the right direction of the plane. It found the gate and crawled down the long hallway, Harry and Hermione following. It went straight to their seats, and they sat down, still holding hands. Thankfully, no one tried to step on the bug. They had first class, so it was easy to be comfortable in their chairs. Hermione leaned back a bit in her chair, as they were the first people to board first class for the flight.

_ This is going to be a long flight _ . She looked down at her and Harry's intertwined hands.  _ 'Although... it may be a very pleasant one.' _ She reminded herself joyfully.

She was right; it would be a pleasant flight.


	8. Tribulations in the Tournament

"Well, what do you want to do for the next twenty-one hours?" Hermione asked Harry as some first class people started coming in.

"I was sure you had a schedule for what we should do," Harry asked, making her blush with embarrassment. "What's the time zone difference?" Harry asked, reclining in his chair to match Hermione's.

Hermione was thankful to him for changing the conversation. "Up to four hours," she said, looking back up.

Harry looked over to her and smiled. "You are a walking atlas," he said playfully.

"And knowing a lot of stuff is bad?" She countered.

"Of course not, seeing as it's thanks to your 'knowing stuff' that I lived for seven years. Thanks... for everything. I don't believe I say that a lot, so thanks."

Hermione smiled back at him. "Harry, you don't have to say that. Think of it as paying you back for saving me... how many times was it? About six times?" She counted in her head.

"I saved you that many times?" Harry asked, dumbfounded. "Well, you saved me a few more than six times, that's for sure. Well I don't plan on getting the opportunity to even the score."

"That's a definite. I didn't know I saved you a lot."

"Yeah, save somebody one time and you just keep on doing it, sometimes not even thinking about it. I believe you have a serious case of a 'saving people thing'."

Hermione laughed. "I can't say I know what you mean, since you saved the whole world."

"But not by myself," Harry started seriously, looking Hermione square in the eyes. "You were the brains of the whole thing. I just followed my instincts."

"I may have been the brains, but you are the leader," Hermione said, looking back defiantly, as if daring him to counter.

Harry, however, was determined to give credit where credit was due. "Name one thing that I led that we succeeded in all by myself." Harry mentally thought of all the things that Hermione did to help him.

"Dumbledore's Army ( _ You talked me into it _ )... Breaking into Gringotts ( _ I was under the cloak while you were out in the open, risking your life _ ) and the Ministry ( _ both times, you helped me and I wouldn't call the first break-in successful _ )... and just two weeks ago ( _ I died and you didn't _ )... "

"Okay, I get your point," Harry said with a small grin, "but what about the things that I did alone?"

Hermione, who didn't notice the grin, continued. "The Triwizard Tournament."

Harry decided to think out loud for Hermione to get the point. "You trained me and Crouch Jr. kept dropping hints."

"The Chamber."

"You gave me the clues, and Fawkes saved my sorry arse."

"But I didn't help you kill the Basilisk!"

"I would have looked it in the eye if you hadn't warned me."

"Battling Voldemort at the end of the Tournament."

"And if I didn't have the brother wand?"

"Taking out Quirrel."

"All I had to do was touch the git."

Hermione sighed, admitting defeat. "Well, that was all you did by yourself."

"Exactly." Harry said, looking ahead. "I hope you realize that without you or Ron... okay, mainly you... I wouldn't have lived this far. My life is in your hands every year. And somehow... you always save it. Thanks."

Hermione smiled brightly with pink cheeks and looked over to the window. They were moving the stairs that they use to load the plane with fuel. They were about to leave.

"It's what friends do." She said simply.

"Well, I'm  _ very _ glad you're my friend, then." Harry said, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Thank you, Harry," she said as she turned back to him. "You were the first friend I ever made, you know."

"Did you know that you were the first friend I ever made... excluding Ron?"

"You know, I just might stop by the Dursleys when I find out where they are." She said, scowling, as though if they got him some better clothes and didn't keep him in the dreaded cupboard all those years, Harry would at least have a few friends.

"And I'm going to help." Said Harry proudly, trying to lighten the mood.

Hermione then remembered something. "Harry?" She asked.

"Hmm?" said Harry, buckling his seatbelt and reaching in his pocket for bubble gum.

"You're going to show me that cupboard." It wasn't a statement, but a command.

"Sure." He said happily as he pulled out a stick of gum and kept it in his hand. After seeing the shocked expression on Hermione's face, he explained. "They can't do anything to me now or ever again. And I think I want to show them what magic I can do." He thought for a moment, them smiled widely. "If you want to irk them off, use the word 'magic' a lot."

Hermione looked at the brightly smiling Harry and smiled herself. They stared at each other for a moment, just glad to be in each other's company, until the pilot started speaking in the PA system.

The roach's thirty minutes of orders were up, and it crawled onto Harry's lap. Harry looked around to see that no one was watching, so he unwrapped the cloak and pulled both of their wands out and handed Hermione's to her. Hermione put her wand in her pocked while Harry removed the sticking charm. Harry noted that at the same time he cast the counter-spell, the Pilot's voice distorted for a short moment. Hermione noted this too, apparently.

"So magic  _ does _ interfere with electricity, then?" She asked curiously.

"I guess so. I just thought it was another ward at Hogwarts. Do you think we can find a spell that can make a phone or something work near magic?"

"I don't think it would be possible, but I'll try and find out. Harry, Our luggage is crawling away," She said, looking at the roach crawl down Harry's leg with a bit of amusement and disgust.

wand and transfigured the roach into a brown, leather purse. He put it under the chair in front of Hermione like the pilot said and sat back. He handed the pack of gum to Hermione and two ear plugs. He then took out two for himself, ready to put them on.

When the pilot stopped talking, they put the earplugs on and Hermione started chewing her gum. They looked out of the window and saw the plane slowly back up... slowly turn onto a lane... going faster... almost at the end of the stretch... lifting up ... higher ... higher... and above the clouds, on its way to Australia. Harry looked out of the window the entire time in awe. A broom had nothing on this. He then wondered how high he could go on a broom. He would have to try that the next time he had a chance.

They took their earplugs out and put them in their pockets for when they land.

"Well, what do you want to do? We just woke up, and the broom flight made sure that I'll stay awake for a while."

Hermione reached in the back pocket and pulled out a magazine. "Well... I wanted to talk to you about... Hogwarts." She said nervously.

"Yeah?" Asked Harry, seeing her fumbling the pages.

"Well... as you know, we didn't go to school last year... and I was wondering... "

"If we could have one more year at Hogwarts?" Harry finished.

Hermione nodded. "Hermione, are you really that desperate to take your NEWTS?"

"Not exactly... it's something else that I always wanted to do... well, be... "

Harry smiled. "Head Girl, huh? You'll definitely get it if you went back."

"Harry, there's a  _ chance _ I'll get it." Hermione explained, blushing at the compliment.

"Yes, a two-hundred and ten percent chance. You have the initials, right? HG, the HG. I can see that." Harry said jokingly.

"So... will you come with me?"

"I'll have to think about it... I mean, I never thought about returning. I could be Quidditch captain again, but I don't really feel like ending up in the Hospital Wing this year. I think Madame Pomfrey has a trophy for me somewhere." Said Harry. "I know Ron isn't going... unless... give me some more time to think, Hermione. Alright?"

"Okay." Hermione said, feeling hurt. If Harry wasn't going, she didn't want to go. Harry was the only  _ true _ friend she ever had, besides Ginny. Students will try to be her friend because of her being friends with Harry, which will drive her mad.

"Hermione, I said I'll think about it." Said Harry, hearing the hurt in her voice. "And, just to tell you, it's leaning towards a yes."

Hermione smiled brightly. She leaned over and hugged him fiercely. "If I keep getting hugs like that, my answer will be yes." Said Harry before he could stop himself. Hermione's eyes widened at that statement, but Harry couldn't see her face. She then whispered, "By the time we get back, your answer will be yes, then." She replied. She couldn't believe what just came out of her mouth.  _ Am I flirting? _

Harry had the same thought.  _ Is she flirting? _ With a very pink face, she pulled back and pulled out a pair of headphones in front of her. She leaned into the chair once more, plugging the headphones into the jack on her armrest and closed her eyes, not seeing the baffled look on Harry's face.

As she was sleeping, she was thinking of what happened during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament...

_ Hermione was in the stands, sitting next to Ron, waiting for Harry to come out with the cup in his hands and a wide grin on his face. They were waiting for a few hours. Ron was sleeping since an hour into the task, but not snoring ( _ 'Thank Merlin' _ , Hermione thought) and the twins were still placing bets on the game, with Harry at the top. That made Hermione smile a little. _

_Then, rumors started spreading that someone died... no, someone was killed... or scared to death—in the maze. Hermione knew that all rumors are sketchy, but they all had one thing in common... someone might be dead. She instantly began to worry and prayed that it wasn't Harry. If something happened to him, she didn't know what she was going to do. She couldn't seem to think of her life without Harry Potter. It was just... completely illogical._

'But nothing could have happened' _ , Hermione told herself mentally.  _ 'Dumbledore specifically said that they made precautions and none of the champions would be in mortal danger.' _ Fleur had been taken out of the maze just five minutes prior, so only Harry, Viktor, and Cedric were left in the maze. _

_ She then saw a small flash of blue light in the maze. At first, Hermione relaxed with the others in the stands. She was just glad it was not a green light. Then, she looked curiously at the maze where the light had come from. It was the center, where the cup was supposed to be. _ Was the cup glowing? _ She thought.  _ 'Was it to show the champions where the cup was, so they could have the chance to find it faster?' _ She dismissed that thought almost immediately. The light wasn't that strong for the champions to see, as they can't see to the other side of the large, bushy walls. They wouldn't be able to see the light by looking up from down there, either.  _ 'Was a charm placed on the cup as a trap?'  _ She asked herself frightfully. _

_Apparently, Professor Dumbledore must have reached a grim conclusion as well, as he stood up from his purple squishy chair that he transfigured from a leaf and ran with the agility that an old man shouldn't have over to the entrance of the maze. The teachers quickly stood up also, but stopped short when Dumbledore raised his hand for them to stay still._

_Hermione saw the most serious look she has ever seen on the Headmaster's face. Something was very wrong._

_Hermione stood up. "Ron, let's go," She said grimly._

_"Why? Wha's happened?" Ron said sleepily. Apparently he was just waking up. The blue light or the murmuring probably did it._

_"Just come on," Hermione said impatiently._

_ Ron nodded and followed her curiously as she ran down the stands, pulling out her wand as she ran. She yelled out " _ Accio _ Marauder's Map!" and prayed that her summoning spell is as powerful as Harry's. She heard a small whistling noise and arched her head back. The blank parchment came soaring to her hand. _

_ She touched it with her wand and hurriedly said, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good." She looked at the words filling out the parchment, and looked for Harry's name. Harry's name was not in the maze. She looked closer. Only Krum was in the maze, and he seemed to be walking very slowly for someone who wanted to win. Harry  ** and ** Cedric were missing. _

_She started running faster, praying that nothing had happened to him. She didn't notice Ron tire out and stare at her in disbelief and shock, wondering what's gotten into her. He slowed down a bit while she kept running faster and faster, soon skidding to a stop as she reached Professor Dumbledore. Too out of breath to speak, she handed the map to the professor. At first, he looked intrigued and impressed by the map's magic, and then looked for Harry's name. Hermione was finally able to catch her breath after a few seconds._

_"Harry... Cedric... not there." Ron finally got to them and stopped in his tracks when he heard what Hermione said. "What!" Ron shouted as Dumbledore was shocked also, as he found the maze and saw only one name in it. Dumbledore then ran to the staff, ordering them to surround the maze, while he starts to go inside of it._

_Shortly after, Professor Dumbledore came out of the maze levitating a stunned Viktor Krum._

_He walked over to the teachers and told them something, but she was to distraught to hear anything but one word, which was all she needed to know for the tears to fall and her knees to crash down to the ground to hunch over._

_'Imperius'._

_Someone planned this. Someone wanted to do Harry harm, and it was most likely a Death Eater, the same one who placed his name in the cup, most likely. She immediately suspected Karkaroff, but the thought left her as quick as it came. He wouldn't have Imperio'ed his own student. He would've put the Unforgivable on Cedric. She looked up at the teachers and saw that Karkaroff was in a panic, or pretending to be in one. He was looking at Snape rolling up his sleeve and although she couldn't see what Snape was pointing at, Hermione could bet that it was the Dark Mark. She saw Karkaroff walk away slowly towards the Forbidden Forest. She was convinced that he didn't do it and was probably getting away so they could (possibly wrongly) place the blame on him. She resumed her crying._

_Over an hour later, the teachers all returned to have a meeting and murmurs were even louder, while Ron was walking around aimlessly, thinking, with a small frown on his lipsas he kept taking subtle glances at Hermione. She was crying and on her knees on the Quidditch Pitch as she had been doing since she came down to the pitch, but now whispering._

_"... Harry... please be safe... please be safe, Harry... please... don't leave us... don't leave me... "_

_Just then, Harry and Cedric appear out of nowhere and Harry landed face-first on the ground, clutching Cedric's side with one hand and the cup with his other hand. Harry was shaking madly, his arm deeply bruised, but Cedric was completely still. Hermione would have jumped for joy if she was still on the ground. Harry had won the tournament, (even though he was bleeding, he was still alive) but Cedric fainted in the maze, so he brought him out. That at least, is what Hermione thought... until she saw that Cedric's eyes were opened—and he wasn't blinking. Cedric Diggory was dead._

_Before she could even move, the professors and Minister Fudge ran over to Harry with Dumbledore getting there first. Hermione stood up and was about to run over to him until a certain greasy-haired git got in the way. Professor Snape, clutching his forearm, urgently told Hermione and an approaching Ron to leave the area, but they refused._

_ "I'm not  ** asking ** you two to leave!" Snape yelled vehemently. Apparently his forearm was in pain because he became impatient with them a little bit too easily. _

_ "And I'm not  ** advising ** you that I stay!" Hermione yelled back with even more anger than Snape. She was not going to let this Death Muncher/Potions Bastard get in the way of her seeing Harry. _

_ Ron stopped and stared at Hermione as if she had gone mad. She just yelled at an adult. She just yelled at a professor, and more importantly, Snape. Then Ron looked at Hermione's face. She looked angrier than he has ever seen her, even when they were arguing at the Yule Ball. _ Is she doing all this... for Harry?

_Severus was completely speechless. Hermione Granger just yelled back at him. She had fire in her deep brown eyes at the moment, and looked like she could hex someone at any given time. He suspected that if he was a student, Hermione would have put him in a body bind by now. Or worse._

_Before the hot-headed professor could respond, she ran past him to Harry's crowd. Most of the students and Mr. Diggory were already there from the stands, mourning over the loss of a fellow Hogwarts student. When she got there, there was no sign of him. She looked at the map that was still in her hands, searching frantically for Harry's name. Then she found it. He was in a room with... Bartemius Crouch and Alastor Moody. Hermione's mind went racing. Barty Crouch was dead... the other Barty Crouch—his son, Jr.—died in Azkaban, for being a Death Eater... So who is this guy?_

_She found the professor, who was patting the back of a crying Mr. Diggory, and showed him the map. She pointed to the three names wordlessly. Dumbledore looked at the map and came to a stared at it for a moment, his blue eyes seeming to pierce the map. He got up and asked her, "Miss Granger, if someone dies, does their name still appear on that map?" Hermione thought for a second. She never really got to test that. Moody borrowed the map when Barty Crouch Sr. died and she just summoned it from his study. She looked frantically on the map, searching for a name. Then she found it._

_"I see Nearly Headless Nick," she said. That was all Dumbledore needed to hear, apparently, as he ran past Hermione to Moody's tower, and as always, leaving everyone in the dark. Apparently, Professors McGonagall and Snape were having none of this, as they ran to Dumbledore's side._

_Hermione started to run also, until Ron caught her arm._

_"Ron, what—"_

_"You should stay here." He said gravely. "We can see him in the hospital wing later. By the look of his bruises, he will go to the hospital wing very soon."_

_"Ron, I can't just stand here!" Hermione barely screamed, wanting to curse Ron at the moment. She tried to yank her arm out, of Ron's hand, but he kept gripping tighter. She did yank one last time until she was tired once again. Ron did stumble a little, but held his hold. She narrowed her eyes at him. She pulled out her wand and pointed it threateningly at his arm, not letting her eyes waver from Ron, unblinking. "Let go." She said in a frighteningly dark voice. Ron's eyes widened, as he had never seen her with so much hatred in her eyes before, but he didn't let go._

_"No." he replied, his voice quivering, thinking what hex or curse Hermione might put on his arm._

_She narrowed her eyes even more dangerously. "I thought you were Harry's best friend? You should've been running to him with me."_

_"Shouldn't you be checking on Vicky?" Ron asked, turning irritated by the second._

_ Hermione blanched. "Why the  ** hell ** would I worry about Krum while Harry is hurt?" _

_Ron dropped his jaw in shock. Hermione just cursed and called Viktor by his last name. She was completely out of her boring character right now. He thought if that as a little... no, very... attractive. He let go of Hermione's arm in shock, which was pure white from his tight grip. Hermione ran as soon as she felt Ron's hand loosen, but stopped in her tracks when Ron spoke again._

_"Do you like Harry?"_

_Hermione snapped her head at Ron with a stare that could petrify him. "Of course I like Harry, Ron. He's my best friend."_

_"You know what I mean!"_

_"No, Ron I don't. What do you mean? I love Harry... like a brother. He is the most important person in the world to me, and I'm worried about him. He should be in Madame Pomfrey's office right now. I'm going to take him there right now, whether you want to help or not." She stamped back up to Ron, who backed up a little. She reminded him of his mother's temper._

_"But Dumbledore's got him. Don't worry—"_

_"Of course I'm going to worry, Ron!" Hermione didn't scream, yet her voice was oddly venomous and powerful. "This is Harry that we're talking about! When do we have to not worry about him? Sometimes I wonder if he's my only friend." She muttered as she looked at the Marauder's Map once more. "They still hadn't left Moody's tower, yet. "What is taking them so long?" Hermione grumbled, running her hand through her bushy hair in frustration. "Dumbledore probably put a ward or something around the place by now."_

_Ron's eyes widened. Did she say 'or something'? She didn't even say 'Headmaster'. And that's when he knew. Hermione likes Harry. Possibly even more. He suddenly felt empty. He knew that he liked Hermione, but never thought that Hermione might not like him back._

_Hermione spent the next few minutes grumbling furiously while Ron was thoughtful, taking a few side-glances at her._

_Hermione smiled when she chanced a look at the map again a few minutes later. "Harry and Professor Dumbledore are leaving. They're going to the Hospital Wing!" She exclaimed, her old self returning, making Ron groan. "Come on, Ron!" She said, breaking into a run towards the castle. Ron stared at Hermione in disbelief before running to catch up, which was impossible, as Hermione was too giddy to slow down, but instead, speed up, even with Ron's long legs. Ron decided then and there that he liked Hermione a lot more only when she was angry like that. It was just... so much sexier than her usual self. He mentally took note of that and made sure he was going to make use of that note in the future._

_That night, Hermione went to Madame Pomfrey's office under the Invisibility Cloak and looked at Harry. He was frowning and shivering a bit, as if he was having a nightmare, since Madame Pomfrey placed a strong warming charm on the blankets and since it was fairly late, the Dreamless Sleep potion must've worn off. The curse scar was probably helped. She could surely understand why he would have a nightmare. You-Know-Wh—no, V-V-Voldemort had returned, and he was blaming himself for it. He saw a friend die in front of him by the hands of his parents' so-called friend, who just happened to indirectly kill them also. He definitely needed someone, now. She had been crying all day for him and the things that he's seen that day. His parents' direct murderer had been revived by his own blood. No one would've been able to be at ease with that._

_She reached out of the cloak and placed her hand on his. He instantly relaxed and stopped shaking, but he was still asleep. Hermione took off the cloak and took a good look at his now cleaned face. He looked peaceful whenever he slept. She knew that he was the most vulnerable in his sleep, and suspected that he knew that too. He seems to forget that often, though._

_While she was busy looking at the features on his face, she didn't notice her own getting closer and closer. She finally realized it as her lips touched Harry's. She felt a sensational rush spread throughout her whole body. Her knees went very weak just from their lips touching, and she had the feeling that if she didn't stop soon, she would have no way of leaving the hospital. That was when Hermione confirmed her feelings for Harry._

_She pulled back from the kiss after ten seconds to look at the sleeping Harry again. Sometime during the kiss, he started smiling, but he was still in a deep sleep, according to his breathing. Hermione, also smiling and pink, pulled the covers over Harry some more and whispered in his ear._

_"Good night, Harry... ... I... I love you."_

_She placed a tender kiss on Harry's scar and quickly put on the invisibility cloak. She walked somewhat dazedly back to her dorm._


	9. We're Soarin', Flyin'!

Hermione woke up a bit later as the next thing she thought of was the kiss on the cheek she had given Harry at King's Cross Station. She would never let that memory fade from her head, or the memory of her first kiss. She looked over at Harry. Harry was sleeping with headphones on his head, smiling. Hermione looked at him closer. He looked the same as he did three years ago, except with more untidy hair and stubble on his chin. She kissed him on the cheek and sat back to watch the movie that was playing.

"What was that for?"

Hermione froze. Harry was awake and felt her lips touch his cheek. She looked over to him. He was smiling a bit wider than before, she absently noted.

Hermione almost calmly answered. "For coming with me to help me find my parents. You deserve a kiss for that."

Harry pondered this for a second. "Oh." Then he kissed Hermione on the cheek, which hit Hermione by surprise.

"What was that for?" She asked, smiling and blushing prettily.

"Well, for helping me get away from the Wizarding World. I was planning on sneaking out sometime next week to the muggle world, but I don't have to now." After seeing the angry look on Hermione's face, he knew that he had said something wrong. He basically said that he was planning on ditching them again. He quickly added, "I was going to ask you to come with me, though," with a slightly pink face.

Hermione blinked rapidly. "You were going to ask me, Ron, and Ginny?"

"No. Just you."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She was thinking if it was because she has lived in the muggle world before, and Ron and Ginny would be horrible at living like muggles. Fortunately, Harry decided to change the subject. "How long do we have left on the plane?"

Hermione quickly checked her watch to turn away from him so he couldn't see her face getting brighter and brighter. "We have about…fifteen hours left. I slept for six hours?"

"Yeah. I really should have bought a muggle crossword puzzle or a muggle chess set. I'm getting pretty tired of watching movies and…have you looked in front of you, yet?"

Hermione looked in front of her to see a tray of hot food. She saw mashed potatoes with gravy, some turkey slices (also covered in gravy) and some cauliflower. "I put a warming charm on your food." He explained with a grin. "Didn't think it would last this long, though. You got it about an hour ago. The plane isn't crashing, so I'm guessing it didn't interfere with electricity and I made sure it was a weak spell…"

Hermione paled. "You took out your wand on the plane?" She asked in her usual stern teaching voice. Surprisingly, Harry grinned even brighter.

"Who said I even used my wand, Hermione?"

Her jaw dropped. Her mouth started working furiously, but no sound came out. She was in silence, pondering the implications of what he just said while Harry just smiled and went back to watching the movie.

Hermione came back to speaking terms eventually. and she didn't speak about how she's only seen two wizards who could use wandless magic, Dumbledore and Voldemort. For about ten hours, they were watching movies and listening to music, (and going to the bathroom, of course) talking, and sleeping on and off. Hermione explained to Harry the places they were going to go first, while eating her fourth tray of food; Harry was on his fifth tray.

"So, how long do you think it could take us to find them?" Harry asked as he pulled some jerky out of Hermione's 'purse'.

"To tell you the truth, it could, er, take about a few months, but at the least, a few weeks. If we can't find them in New Zealand, and they moved into the main part of Australia, we could be there much longer." Hermione sat still, waiting for his reaction. She didn't really tell him about that 'minor' detail. She told him during their day out yesterday that if the trip became too long, he could go home at any time. She asked that if he did, could he call her at least once a week for someone to talk to. Harry was ignoring her the whole time and at the end of her question, he asked her why would he want to abandon his best friend, who gave up a year to help him.

"I don't know, Harry, I just have doubts. Isn't that natural? It may take a while to find my parents if they're not at the place I put them. I wouldn't blame you if you left."

"Hermione, Harry said in a calm voice, "I'm not going to leave you. You didn't leave me, So I'm not going to leave you. I would've gone with you regardless. You're my best friend, why would I not stay?"

"Well, I just—"

"No Hermione," Harry said seriously, turning to her, and letting down his clothes bag. He put his hands on her shoulder, looked into her cinnamon eyes and said, "I will never leave you. The day I leave you is the day that I join my parents, and I don't want t do that anytime soon, now that I have time to live. And when that does happen," Harry formed a lopsided grin, "I'll leave you a ring in my will." He looked closely at her to see her reaction at the many possibilities in his statement. He saw Hermione's eyes widen a small bit, as if trying to mask her expression, so it made him wonder if she came to the conclusion he was really talking about. "It may have a small crack, but it's got the Gryffindor colors and it's useful." He saw realization dawn on Hermione and she none-too-gently hit Harry in the chest.

"I'm going to remember this, Potter," she said with a smirk that didn't quite reach her narrowed eyes. She was happy that he'd give her the ring, but she just wished that there was another to go with it. But it would never happen, she knew.

She was thoroughly shocked and pleased when he nodded thoughtfully.

After a few seconds, he asked, "Do you think that if I used the Elder wand in the middle of Australia and yelled 'Accio Mr. and Mrs. Granger', would it work?"

Hermione giggled. It was a wonderful sound to him. "Harry, if you didn't know about magic, wouldn't you have a heart attack when you're all of a sudden flying through the air?"

"I guess that's not a good idea, then. Well, I guess we'll be looking for them the old-fashioned way. We'll use brooms." He grinned and yanked off some jerky with his teeth.

"Well, we can use a car. I'm fairly certain we can afford that. Harry, can you drive?"

"Nope. Vernon gave me Dudley's old bike, though. He said that he may want me out as soon as possible, but he doesn't want me to fly cars into buildings. I'm guessing he got that idea from Ron. Vernon said sooner or later, people might find out that they're my guardians." Harry casually said as he was eating jerky and mashed potatoes.

Hermione's heart ached for Harry once again. How can he talk so calmly about this?

"I know what you're thinking about, Hermione," Harry said as he handed her a pumpkin pastry, "and the past doesn't really bother me anymore. The only reason I went to the Dursleys is because of Voldemort. He's dead, they're gonna be sorry for what they did next time we meet them, so I get to erase those sixteen years from my life. Except the good memories of Hogwarts, of course." Harry grinned. He absently thought, 'And last Christmas, even though it turned out bad.'

Hermione wrapped her arm around Harry's shoulders and put her head on his shoulder.

"Harry, how do you always know what I'm thinking?"

"How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

"Instinct, I guess. I don't really know."

"That's the first time I heard those words from you." Maybe because we're made for each other? Nah...

She smacked him lightly on the arm with her free hand. "Prat," She said playfully.

"I know I am." Said Harry as he held her attacking hand to look at her watch. "Four hours and thirty minutes, huh? We're almost there." He said, putting his arm around Hermione and rested his head on hers. They both wished they could stay like that forever.

"Yeah." Hermione said after a long minute and sighed. "I wonder how they're living? I transferred their bank account numbers, so they're well off for a while; I'm not sure if the money will last for a year, though. I just made them have the sudden idea for them to want to go to Australia."

"Well, once again, you did have other things on your mind."

Hermione decided to ask the question that has been bothering her for a while. "Harry…where are we going to stay?"

"What do you mean? Hotel suites, right?"

"What if we go to a place that doesn't have Hotel Suites?" She countered. She wanted to get this out of the way in case this subject might embarrassment in the future.

Harry became nervous and found it very hard to breathe. Finally he said, "Let's figure that out when we get there, shouldn't we?"

Hermione blushed to a color that would make any Weasley proud. He didn't give a definite answer. He would've calmly said that it was okay since they were friends. But Harry sounded nervous. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, so she decided to give Harry a small test. "So...are you saying that if…if there was a hotel that was the only one in that town, and they only had rooms with one bed, full-sized, available, what would you do?" She asked. She had him. It was then, or never. Did he want to stay 'platonic', or could there be something more?

Harry turned scarlet (though she couldn't see his face), but answered as calmly as he could (which wasn't much), "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, so I'll sleep on the floor. What do you think about it?" Harry put Hermione on the spotlight, now. It was her decision. If she wanted to stay friends, he would sleep on the floor. But if she said otherwise…

Hermione didn't expect Harry to escape that one. She couldn't think of a way to escape his question other than, 'I don't know, what do you think about it?' That would be a waste of time, as he could reply the same thing, and she would go on and on like a comedy routine that wasn't very funny. She had to answer.

"You don't have to, Harry." She said after some thought of how she was going to reply. "If there was only one bed, I would let you sleep with me." She waited with baited breath, to see how he was going to take this.

Harry let out a breath he did not know he was holding, and whispered, "Good."

Hermione heard his whisper, and her face went brighter than even Ginny's hair. "What did you mean by 'good'? You've slept on the floor before." She said full of curiosity of why he said that. It couldn't be the reason of why she thought he said that. She still didn't want to skip to any conclusions. "Or is there any other reason you said 'good'?" She asked, hopefulness trying not to appear in her voice.

"You like it when I'm uncomfortable, don't you?" Harry asked as he tugged on his collar. It suddenly became very warm.

"Why would you be uncomfortable, Harry?" She asked as she raised her head from Harry's shoulder and pulled back. "Would I be making you uncomfortable?"

"More like the complete opposite." Harry mumbled before he could stop. He put his hand over his mouth, half hoping that Hermione didn't hear. Hermione did hear, as her heart soared so high, she thought that it might never come down.

"So, you would be completely comfortable sleeping with me, then? Good. I hope you realize that I sleep only in a tank top and knickers." She added playfully.

Harry suddenly put his arms on his lap as he pictured the thought. Then, he came to a sudden realization. "Are you flirting with me?"

"Am I?" Hermione asked innocently. It's not like she has flirted before. Harry formed one of his lopsided grins.

"You are."

"Well, I've never flirted before, so I don't know how to." Hermione said as she turned away. That grin he had always melted her insides.

Harry smiled bigger than he ever smiled in his life. She didn't say that she didn't mean to. That must mean…she  _ did _ like him! There was only one thing he could do to make sure, though. He had to summon all of his Gryffindor courage into one question.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?"

Hermione slowly turned back to Harry and noticed that he was looking down and fiddling with his headphones. He looked up at her and locked his stunning emerald eyes with he equally stunning cinnamon brown ones. "Do you like me?"

Hermione paled at this. She wasn't expecting this. "Of course I like you. You're my best friend."

"You know what I mean." Harry said quietly, looking her square in the eyes.

Hermione was confused, surprised and shocked at the same time: She was surprised and shocked at the question, but confused as how similar this conversation with Ron all those years ago.

"What?" She asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Y'know…" Harry asked, putting his head back down, silently wondering if Hermione was just shocked by the question or shocked by why he would ask such a thing. "I was just wondering…what do you think of me? I mean, I know we're best friends…almost like brother and sister. I just…don't feel comfortable as thinking of you as my sister-figure."

Hermione answered a few seconds later. "Oh?" She couldn't hide the hurt in her voice. She put her head back down as Harry's head slowly looked up. She didn't notice. She couldn't believe what he just said. He was saying that he didn't think of her as a very best friend. Sure, she really couldn't think of him as his brother, also, but that couldn't be the same reason for Harry to say that. She had not thought of Harry as a brother because…

She was interrupted by Harry, who placed his hand on hers. She looked back up at Harry, who looked extremely nervous for some reason, and heard the almost exact echo of her thoughts through his mouth in a shaky voice. "Because, I don't really like the thought of having a crush on my sister."

To say that Hermione was pleased would be an understatement. Her eyes widened at this confession. "D-do you mean that, Harry?" She asked in a slightly chocked voice, her eyes forming tears. Harry had mistaken the tears of joy for sorrow for some reason.

He looked away once again, not noticing the slow smile spreading across Hermione's face. He thought he just might've ended the great relationship they had already. "I'm really sorry for bringing that up, it's just that we've been spending a lot of time together the last few days and I just had this crazy thought that you liked me, and well, I'm sorry, and I completely understand if you're mad at me, and I pray that we can still be friends and that you forget what I said if you're uncomfortable with that, but I just had to ask, because you know how bad I am with girls' feelings and feelings for girls…" Harry kept going on and on, still looking down. By now, the color of his face was complimenting Gryffindor at the moment.

She was snapped out of her daze and noticed with amusement that Harry was still talking. "…You can chuck me out one of the exits right now if you want—" But whatever he was about to say was lost to her forever as she decided to end his record-breaking rambling and tenderly grabbed his face and pulled it to her lips. He was caught by surprise, but he didn't dare pull back. To Hermione, it was more wonderful a sensation than she had since she kissed him four years ago. She was glad she was sitting down, this time. Meanwhile, Harry was amazed that this was the best kiss he's ever gotten, and would love to feel these lips for a long time, if not forever. He was also shocked that Hermione liked him, too. The kiss was a little weird, though; it reminded him eerily of a potion that he was given a few years back in the Hospital Wing.

They parted for air and they sat there, very dazed and shocked, but with a brilliant smile on their faces. Harry slowly looked back at Hermione and they both slowly said, "Wow." They both looked at each other and chuckled a little, Hermione at Harry for his goofy grin and red face, and Harry at Hermione because for the first time, he's heard her say a sentence with only one simple word (and her red face, also). They looked at each other and brought their lips together once more, careful not to cross the borderline of kissing on a plane.

It seemed like only a few minutes before the 'seatbelt' light started blinking. Harry and Hermione parted, incredibly red, blinking dazedly at each other first, and then started grinning madly.

"You know," Harry said a few moments later as he buckled her seatbelt and then his. "Now meeting your parents just made me a bit more nervous."

Hermione also snapped out of he daze and winked at Harry. "You kissed me, Potter, you take the consequences." She said as she put a stick of gum in her mouth.

Harry smiled again and put the earplugs on and chewed some of his gum, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he just kissed the girl that he was in love with since fifth year, possibly longer.

The plane started lowering after the pilot told everyone that they had arrived at the New Zealand Airport. They waited until the passengers from first class left, then Harry transfigured the bag into a roach again. Harry let Hermione confund it this time.

"You will crawl outside," She said, "as fast as you can. Wait outside, at the main entrance, on top of a trashcan for us."

Harry was about to put a shield charm on the bug, when Hermione stopped him.

"Do it wandlessly!" She said enthusiastically. Whether she was still on a high after the best kiss of her life, or she was excited to see wandless magic being performed for the first time in her life, she didn't know.

Harry smirked, put his and Hermione's wand in the cloak again and stuck the cloak to the roach after a sticking charm was applied by Hermione. "I'm sure it won't be as strong, but I'll try it." He raised his hand on the roach and caged it with his fingers, slipping the fabric of the cloak. "Protego!" There was a brief glow around the roach, and it started crawling out through the hallway once again.

Harry put his arm around Hermione's slim waist and they started following their luggage together.

Hermione then thought about how pleasant she thought the flight was going to be a day ago. She noted that not once had she opened a book that she packed. They had literally talked for hours and neither of them had nothing to say. Her mind then wandered to more dangerous territory... The Weasleys.


	10. Searching: Wendell and Monica

"So... we're taking it slow, right?"

"Umm... yeah... I want to wait until I'm married for... that. Is that okay?"

"Good, me too."

"Well, I thought Ginny would have gotten you by now, to be honest, Harry. When Ron opened the door on you two, it looked as if... she was about to give you a pretty good birthday gift. I'm sure she hexed Ron afterwards."

They were on top of the roof of the airport, disillusioned, looking around the city for a good hotel. They decided not to use Harry's broom and Harry climbed on Hermione's, sitting behind her, looking through his omnioculars.

"I think I know why, though. She probably wanted to tell the world she was bearing the child of Harry Potter if anything happened to me."

"Ginny wouldn't go that far... would she?"

"I really don't know. That hotel looks pretty nice." Harry said, pointing from behind her to a very good looking hotel that was called NZ-Inn.

"Well, let's go then." Hermione confirmed. "That place does look really nice, and I'm freezing out here."

"What happened to the coat I gave you?"

"It's in the bag. I don't need right now, though."

"Don't worry, Hermione. I'll figure out a way to get you warm." He said with a grin.

"Thank you, Harry. You're always there for me." She cheekily responded.

"So are you." He finished with a kiss on the outline of her neck, which warmed Hermione fairly quickly.

He lifted the broom off the ground and started heading over towards the hotel. They landed next to the entrance, as no one was walking in at the moment. Harry quickly illusioned themselves and the broom.

"Okay, should I get a suite?"

"You can. I just need a place that's warm." Hermione said, back to shivering from the flight.

Harry transfigured the purse into a large, brown traveling suitcase. At the questioning look from Hermione, he explained. "It looks more... muggle-like than carrying a bag around."

Hermione smiled and nodded appreciatively. Harry placed the brooms in the suitcase, zipped it up, and grabbed Hermione's hand as they walked through the entrance.

About ten minutes later, they were unpacking their things in the very nice suite. The place had red and blue designs and trimmings, as everything was furnished and neatly polished. There were two bedrooms, two marble bathrooms, and a Jacuzzi.

"Look, the room has two beds." Harry groaned.

"Keep groaning and you'll use the other room." She replied in a sweet voice.

"Okay, okay, I got it!" Said Harry quickly as he placed some clothes on his bed.

"I'm not your girlfriend, Potter." She said as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

"Why not?" Said Harry in a hurt voice, as if a brick had been thrown at his chest.

"You hadn't asked me to be your girlfriend yet." Hermione said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She hugged him a little tighter.

"Oh." Harry said, relieved that the only reason she isn't his and he isn't hers is because he hadn't asked. "Technically, on the plane, I did ask you, and you gave me a pretty clear answer. But I should ask you properly." He said as he started searching his bag for something.

"What are you looking for?" Hermione asked, pulling back and walking towards her bed to unpack some more, thinking that he wanted to wait a little longer, and that he might need a bit more time to himself. She could wait a little longer (although a few kisses would be nice). She also wondered if he's biding time because of the Weasley's. There was no way she would let that happen.

"This." He simply said as he pulled out a sterling silver necklace with a heart on the end. Hermione turned to see Harry's necklace and gasped like a fish for water. It sparkled in the room light, emitting a glow from it.

"Harry... when... ?"

"I got it in Diagon Alley, when we went shopping." Harry said nervously, fumbling the necklace. "I planned on giving this to you on the journey, just in case this miracle happened to me. I know it's too soon to say this, and you'll probably say 'Let me think about it', but I want to get this off my chest. I've never said this before to anyone, I never knew what it felt like, but—"

He took a deep breath. He slowly said the words that he wanted to say for a long time. "Hermione... I love you... and much more than a friend or a sister, apparently. I hope you don't slap me and move into the other room, asking me not to speak to you the rest of the journey. I don't think I can handle that. You can say it back when you want, or if you ever do; I was just getting that two year weight off my chest. Now that I said that, will you be my girlfriend? If you still want to be, that is."

Hermione felt tears of joy freely running down her cheeks and made no move to stop them. It took her a moment to process this information. He loves her. He just said it right in front of her, and for a second, she didn't think it were true. Yet she saw in his eyes, that he was telling her the complete truth. She ran up to him and hugged him tight, as if afraid he'd leave if she let go.

"Harry... " she cried, "... of course I will be your girlfriend... and I love you, too."

Harry was shocked for a moment. He didn't expect to be told back those words so soon. She loved him. She actually loved him. It took a moment for him to process it. "Good," was all he could say as he snapped the necklace into its rightful place around her neck and leaned down to kiss her. Hermione put her arms around his neck as Harry put his around her waist. He couldn't believe he was gutsy enough to do that. He finally told her he loved her. And she said it back.

Finally, they parted, looking into each other's eyes. Harry finally spoke. "This... is the greatest day of my life."

Hermione smiled brilliantly. "It certainly is for me."

"I can't believe I'm feeling so bold."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, usually it would take Veritaserum for me to say that so soon." He grinned. "I mean, I'm immensely glad that I just told you that I love you," (Hermione blushed at peak red at that moment) "but you don't think I've said it too soon? I mean I just asked you to be my girlfriend."

Hermione just smiled and said, "Harry, you didn't say it too soon. I never thought that I'd ever hear those words from you, ever." She said truthfully.

"How long did you like me?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I guess I can tell you now." Hermione sighed. "Since first year. But it was just a crush."

"Wait a minute," Harry said, pulling back slightly, but not letting go of her shoulders. "How long did you like me?" She immediately understood what he meant and answered quickly. Ginny never knew the difference—but to Hermione, they were two completely different people. "Since second year." Harry was a little shocked by that. That long?

"That was when I first liked you, I think." He grinned.

"You did?—wait, you think?" Hermione asked with not anger, but curiosity.

"Well, if you call waiting by your bedside for hours every single day when you were in the hospital wing and me thinking how I should've been in your place called 'like', I think I already at least liked you then."

"But Cho... "

"To keep my mind off of you. I thought you only thought of me as a friend then. And Ron liked you then. So how did I catch your eye?" He asked with a small grin.

"Well, I didn't think that you would solve that code to the chamber I left for you. I thought you would give it to a professor to solve it. I was planning on finding a picture of a basilisk, and I even planned on interviewing Myrtle! I don't think I would have even been able to solve it myself. To me... I find that very attractive." She explained, glowing brighter from the last sentence.

"Well, I'm glad I figured it out, then." He said as he pressed his lips to hers once more. This time it was a little more intense. Harry slowly licked the entrance to Hermione's mouth. It wasn't forceful like Ron did, so she wouldn't be guaranteed to be mortified afterwards. She slowly opened her moth, wondering what it would feel like; always the curious one. Harry slipped his tongue slowly into Hermione's mouth. He never really got that far with Ginny. Right when he felt Ginny's tongue licked his lips, Ron came barging in. Now, Harry's thankful for that—he wants both of them to enjoy this new experience together.

Hermione made a muffled groan at the feel of Harry's tongue slowly roaming her mouth, as if trying to memorize the area for further excavations. This made Hermione smile into the kiss and her tongue decided to meet his. This time they both groaned and for the first time, Hermione's mind went blank.

They came up for air...eventually. "What t-time is it?" Harry asked in a daze.

It took a while for Hermione to process this in her head, so while she was still figuring out what he said, Harry took her hand to look at her watch. "It's three. Do you want to wait until tomorrow morning to start looking for your parents?"

Hermione came back to earth after hearing 'your parents'. "No. I think we should start this afternoon. As much as I don't want to say it, let's get some sleep." She groaned.

"Keep groaning and I'll have to join you." He grinned as he kissed her forehead and walked towards the bag, unpacking both of their stuff.

Hermione smiled and walked into the loo to change. She then remembered the promise she made to Harry on the plane about her attire when she goes to sleep. She felt a little more confident about herself as she changed into her thick tank top and knickers. She liked how the charm of the necklace landed perfectly on the top of the valley between her breasts, and wondered if Harry planned it that way. She was immensely glad that Harry had never seen female breasts before, and was glad that her breasts were bigger than Ginny's. She wondered what Ginny's reaction was going to be when she tells her that she and Harry are dating. She seemed happy with it. Then she wondered about Ron. He may have looked mad, but it really wasn't his decision, anyway. It was hers and Harry's decision. There will be some tension, though, she had to admit, especially from Mrs. Weasley, who had her heart set on Harry being with Ginny and Hermione being with Ron.

She had plenty of time to get to that, though; she had to find her parents, first. She walked out of the loo, temporarily forgetting that she was wearing only her undergarments. She stopped when she saw that Harry was staring at her from his bed, eyes wide and slightly drooling. She quickly looked down. She hadn't forgotten to put any clothes on. Her breasts were only a medium size. She used to have thin legs before she went on the trip with Harry and Ron, but her legs started getting stronger from all the running the had to do, and now they're getting quite shapely and tan. Her skin was a little paler than her face, which was now getting redder and redder by the second as Harry was still gaping at her.

"Yes, Harry?" She said shyly.

"Do you remember when I called you pretty?" Harry said, still in a daze, while he wiped the drool off of his mouth and pulled his covers up a little, as he was about to show too much appreciation for her shapely figure. Hermione watched as he turned on his stomach in confusion. A second later, she fully understood, and she started blushing furiously, and her appreciation for his appreciation slowly started to show on her breasts.

Harry watched in fascination as Hermione's nipples began to harden. He did read a bit about it in some of Dudley's magazines that were stashed under his computer, and sometimes on the desktop. It said that nipples harden when they're cold or aroused. The bedroom was pretty warm. This made Harry's face light up and his cheeks a little bit warmer, if possible.

"Yes, I remember." Hermione said as she folded her arms across her chest as casually as she could.

"What I meant was... you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He said, on the verge of drooling again.

This made Hermione even redder, and she dropped her arms in shock, showing the fully hardened lumps on her chest, which made Harry shift in his bed again.

"Is this your teenage hormones, or... do you really mean it?" She dared to ask, half-afraid of the answer.

"Both... especially the latter." Harry explained, blinking rapidly and trying to keep his eyes off of Hermione for a minute.

Hermione walked to her bed and pulled the covers back, trying to control her breathing. "Thank you, Harry. You know you can join me if you want, but we're sleeping only." Hermione exclaimed, trying desperately to bring her voice back to normal. Harry was the only boy to call her pretty; it would take her some time to believe that she was 'beautiful'.

Hermione's eyes went to back to Harry. He had shifted again when she asked him to join her.

"R-r-really?"

"Yes. We're just sharing a bed, nothing more." Hermione said, returning to her strict voice. Then she added playfully, "No grabbing of any kind."

This only made Harry's face burn even more. "Could you wait a minute?" Harry asked pleadingly, his stomach still on the bed. Apparently, his 'problem' was still there.

"I-I don't mind, you know." Hermione said hesitantly. "I mean, I am showing you a certain part of my anatomy covered up," she waved at her chest, "why can't you show me yours?"

Harry's jaw dropped. Did she just say what I think she said? Not wanting to argue, he quickly sat up from his bed and started crouching low to Hermione's. Hermione giggled a little as Harry desperately tried to hide his appreciation for her. Even crouching down, she could still see a lump in his pajama pants. Hermione face sizzled when she saw the lump. She licked her lips a little (fortunately for her, Harry didn't see) as she thought of things that she shouldn't be thinking right now, causing her legs to rub together as something uncomfortable, yet pleasant, happened to her. She shook her head wildly, causing her breasts to bounce.

Harry jumped in her bed with the back facing up. He turned to face her. "Please don't do that." He begged.

"Do what?" Hermione asked, perplexed.

"Please don't shake your head, your... " he waved in the direction of her chest and made a small humming sound, "... bounced. And well... the bed is going to hurt me more and more from the, er, 'applied pressure'. Please don't think I'm a pervert or something, I heard it was a natural reaction."

Hermione looked down again, and saw that she wasn't wearing a bra. Even though it was a thick tank top, she could clearly see that her nipples were very hard. "So, do you get aroused when I shake my breasts?" She asked shyly.

"Well, yeah!" He said instantly. "I don't know why you have such low self-esteem, seeing as you're a very, very attractive woman!"

"Well, I don't hear that a lot." Said Hermione, stammering. He sounded like he was telling the truth; why couldn't she believe him?

Harry's expression softened and forgot about his growing problem and moved towards Hermione. "Well, seeing as I'm your boyfriend, I'm supposed to make sure to say that every single day." He snaked his arm under her waist to pull her closer and claimed her lips with his. Hermione felt something hard and silky poke her bare leg, which caused her to tingle again.

"Besides," Harry continued after they parted, not knowing Hermione was in a blissful state, "I don't really fancy guys walking past you and calling you beautiful and attractive."

Hermione didn't reply as she was looking down under the covers. "Harry... could you please move your... well... that? It's doing stuff to me that's too pleasant for me to sleep at the moment." She said, making small gasps at random moments as Harry kept shifting in the bed trying to get more comfortable.

Harry looked down and saw the most erotic scene he ever saw. Hermione's light blue silk knickers had a damp patch and his member (still covered) was fairly close to them, touching her lap. He quickly pulled back, but kept looking at Hermione's underwear, mesmerized.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped, bringing Harry back to the present. "Stop staring at me! It's making me feel... uncomfortable."

Harry was confused and a little hurt. "But in Dudley's magazines, it said that when a woman... er... well, when that happens to her, I thought she was supposed to be turned on?"

Hermione smiled a sincere smile, a little sad that the only thing Harry knows about sex or a woman's body is from Dudley's magazines. She knows that if Dudley has it, it isn't very informative about the more important things. "Harry, I am very turned on, but don't you think we should get some sleep? It is a quarter after three in the morning."

Harry sighed in defeat. He stood back up out of the bed and went to the light switch. He found his way back to Hermione's bed and scooted close to her, now that the problem was 'brought down' a little. He took off his glasses and put them on the nightstand. He kissed Hermione once again and whispered in her ear, "Good night, Hermione."

Shivers went down her entire body when Harry's breath hit her neck, making her sex tingle again. "I'm sorry you had to stop, Harry, but I didn't want to get tempted, and I was very tempted at the moment. In fact, I still am." She explained, her blush not leaving her anytime soon.

Through the moonlight in the window, she saw Harry smile. "I was tempted from when you stepped out of the loo. I'm sure you noticed, though."

She kissed him again and said the words she thought she would never say again where he could hear. "Good night, Harry. I love you."

"Good night, Hermione. I love you, too." The last thing he could think of before he entered a blissful dream with Hermione in it were the words, ' _ déjà vu _ ?'

To say that Ronald Bilius Weasley was a happy man was a complete understatement. He just received confirmation from his mother. His plan was ready. He knew that she had to be doing something in her room all day since Ron and Ginny broke up (temporarily of course) with their lifetime partners. Now she told him what it was she was doing. And he was greatly pleased. Pretty soon, every thing will be like it was in sixth and seventh year. Harry and Hermione would fall in love with the ones that they were destined to fall in love with. Of course, Ginny didn't know about the plan; she never knew the plan; but if she has Harry, then why would she complain? Ron looked forward to when the Boy-Who-Lived/ soon-to-be-brother and the sexy-looking Mudblood Bookworm/definite-soon-to-be-wife to return so they could all live, more or less, happily ever after.

He was so caught up in his happy musings when he closed the door to his mother's room that he didn't notice George and Percy looking around the corner at him, staring suspiciously.

Hermione woke up in an extremely pleasant state the next morning. She was still embraced with Harry, his member between her legs, inches away from her incredibly wet knickers, His hand currently residing on her buttocks, held firmly in place. She did remember having a very pleasant dream with Harry, dreaming what would happen if they were fully tempted the night before. She allowed herself to stay in that position for a few more minutes, running her hands along Harry's shirtless back and abs.

While lying in the bed with Harry, she decided that she never wanted to sleep without Harry again. She enjoyed the feel and touch of him and loved the way that he felt her, too.

She still couldn't believe that all of this happened in one day and night. Here she was, Hermione Granger, a girl who was never considered pretty or attractive, a girl who never had a proper kiss until she was almost nineteen, in bed with a man who loved her... not to mention a man who could've chosen any woman in the wizarding world to be his girlfriend—they would most likely offer to marry him, instead.

Hermione slowly got up and went to change her knickers first. She looked back at Harry and saw that he was still sleeping and smiling. Hermione took off her top and knickers and placed them on the ground, ready to go take a shower. When her bare feet touched the cold tiles, she gave an involuntary shudder.

She heard a moan and looked back towards Harry. He was wide-eyed (without glasses), staring up and down Hermione, who was completely naked. Harry seemed to think if his bad eyes were giving him an illusion. She turned bright red at the lustful look Harry was giving her, mainly looking at the small brown patch of hair between her legs, causing her nipples to harden again in full sight. Finally, Harry found his voice.

"Do... D'you need any help showering?"

This question made Hermione's heart rate quicken. She could only stammer when she spoke. "Harry, d-don't you think we're rushing this a bit?"

Harry snapped out of his trance and ran a hand through his mussed up hair, trying to look at her face. "Yeah, we probably are. Sorry about that. I'm not usually graced with this sight every day. Kinda lose it a little. But... we can still sleep together, right?"

Hermione looked at the pleading on Harry's face and saw the truth. All of her doubt had disappeared with that one look. He really did want to sleep with her, because he did love her more than anyone else, and not because of lust, but love... but she wouldn't mind if it was a little lust, also. This warmed her heart greatly.

"Of course," Hermione said with a sincere smile as she closed the door to the loo.

Harry stared at the door for a while, then thought to himself. After everything that's happened to him in the last seventeen years, his life was getting much better in the course of one day. Hermione is the best thing that ever happened to him. He knew now what love meant thanks to her, and now he knew that he was completely in love with her. He definitely enjoyed sleeping with her, (even if they were really sleeping) and wanted to sleep with her for the rest of his life. Since she made him the happiest man alive, he wanted to make her the happiest woman alive, and the only way to make Hermione completely happy was to find her parents. He's definitely gonna find them as quickly as possible.

Getting up from bed he walked over to the Jacuzzi, hoping it worked as a bath.

Ten minutes later, he heard the shower stop and he heard the door to the loo open. He looked back at her, and somehow, it almost got him to drool again. She was clad in only a towel, giving him a nice view of her wet slim legs and wet hair. He was a little shocked to see that she still had on the necklace. 'What did I ever do to deserve her... '

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing, we have to leave soon! We have to start at least today!" Even though she was supposed to be upset, Harry knew that she was being tempted to join him.

"I'm bathing," He replied as he lifted up the washcloth and soap.

"You're... bathing... in a Jacuzzi?" She asked incredulously.

"What?" Harry asked innocently. "When I'm done, all I have to do is empty the water, scourgify the tub, and refill it with fresh water. I had no choice but to use this, anyway. We had to leave as soon as possible, right. You had the loo, right? What was I supposed to use, the sink?" He finished with a smile.

"Well... " Hermione slowly thought, "It does make sense... "

"And the best part is," Harry continued, "A Jacuzzi isn't for just one person."

Hermione shook her head and laughed. "In your dreams, Potter."

"You don't know the half of it," Harry muttered, but loud enough for Hermione to hear.

She blushed again, and Harry wondered if the color would reach her legs, too. "Harry, you really have to stop that! A woman can only blush so many times in a small period of time!"

"Well, there's so many times a guy can get a... well, you saw."

Hermione went brighter and reluctantly said, "Well, that's good to know. Could you turn around so I can change, please?"

"Is that optional?"

"No, now turn around, please."

"You know you don't really want me to—"

"I don't, but I want dry knickers when I look for my parents, Harry."

"Aww... "

Twenty minutes later, they were fully dressed and were out the door with all of their necessary materials. They had sunscreen, sunglasses, hidden wand holsters (with wands in them, of course) on their arm, a broom, and light clothes. Harry quickly disillusioned themselves (Hermione claimed that he could do it faster than her) and mounted their broom.

"How're we going to know where this hotel is?" Harry asked as they were lifting up from the ground.

Hermione gave Harry a parchment and he looked at it. He saw a drawn-in arrow over the letters NZN. He flew away from the hotel and saw that the arrow was going the same direction he was away from the hotel.

"I also have one for the airport." Hermione added.

Harry grinned. "Did I ever tell you how amazingly brilliant you are?"

Hermione blushed at the compliment. "Once... twice... every day."

"That might not be enough." Harry said in a serious voice.

After a few minutes of flying around the city, Hermione scanning the city with her Omnioculars and location charms, Harry was struck with a sudden realization. "Hermione," he said urgently, "do you think that the death eaters have done this already?"

"Well, I don't see why they would check Australia."

"Well, we were on the run for a year."

"I know, but what other choice do we have?"

"Well... " Harry thought for a long moment. "Do you think a muggle phonebook would help? They would think that everything muggle were beneath them."

"I can't believe that I didn't think of that!" Hermione yelled, on the border of admiration for Harry and frustration for not thinking of something so simple. She had relied on magic for too long, that she forgot the simple muggle way. "Let's go to that phone booth."

They flew to the phone booth on the corner of the street; thankfully, no one was in the booth or near it. Harry quickly flipped under the section 'G'. He started looking for the last name 'Granger' But Hermione stopped him.

"Wait! I changed their names to Wilkins, remember?"

Harry, a little confused, started looking under 'W'. When he reached 'Wilkins', he finally remembered what she told him on the day before his birthday. Their names were Wendell and Monica. He then realized that he knew everything about her, but not her family. He just became a little more nervous about meeting Hermione's parents, especially her father, for some reason.

Harry looked over the list of Wilkins'. "I don't see two names, but there are some Wendell's and Monica's on this list. I reckon we should visit all of them, right?"

Hermione pondered this for a moment. "It's more likely that they are under Wendell Wilkins. I think the other ones are single women. We should check all of them, but Wendell first. This might cut our time here by a lot."

"Yeah," said Harry in a sarcastic voice, "we can't wait to get back to the Burrow, where we will be in welcoming arms from the Weasley's."

Hermione shuddered a little. "Do you think that we should return?"

"Where should we go when we find your parents? Grimmauld Place?"

"Well... I guess we can figure that out later. Come on, Harry, it looks like someone is coming."

Harry nodded and tore out the page. He grabbed the still disillusioned broom and they both soared away to one of the Wendell's houses.

They spent the next few days this way; Harry and Hermione would wake up in the morning in a very comfortable position. They would go out, disillusioned to look at all of the Wilkins's residencies. They illusioned themselves and knocked on each door, waiting for someone to open the door. When they see that he is indeed a Wilkins, and not a houseguest, they apologize for their disturbance and bid him goodbye. They walked until each Wendell closed the door, then quickly, Harry disillusioned him and Hermione and fly off to the next home.

Sometimes, Harry would try an Australian accent sometimes, which amazed Hermione at how well he could do it. When she asked how Harry could do that, he said that he could copy this bloke on the telly that he watches when the Dursleys go out that's from Australia. Harry explained that even though he is called a hunter, he is actually very friendly towards animals. He wrestles alligators and Crocodiles and goes around the world, meeting cool animals.

Hermione was a little dismayed at the fact that he wrestles alligators for fun, but Harry assured her that he never hurt them if he wasn't attacked first, and he feeds and takes good care of them. Hermione thought she would have to watch that show sometime to see for herself. Harry pointed him out to Hermione on a couple of billboards. He looked friendly. Maybe he was friendly.

They remembered to buy gifts for the Weasley family, seeing that as they return, they will think that the new couple betrayed them. They bought Mrs. Weasley some oven mittens and some pots and pans with Kangaroos on them. They bought Ron a pair of very nice sunglasses and a safari hat. They're sure Ron would like them. Harry suggested that since he's gonna burn their gifts when they tell him the supposedly good news, that they should buy some firewood. Hermione didn't know if he was joking or not.

They remembered to take some time off while they were there. Harry and Hermione went on a tourist ride through the wildlife tour. Harry was amazed at the animals. He was always a bit envious at the guy who traveled around the world and played with animals while he could only travel around his cupboard, being treated like an animal. Therefore, he enjoyed even more than Hermione, who was taking notes of the fascinating creatures and pictures with her muggle camera that she would charm to move when they got back to the suite. Secretly, they were contemplating in their own mind about becoming an animagus, and were silently wondering if the other wanted to become one.

After a week, they decided to take a break at the beach. Hermione was a little reluctant to go in her fairly conservative bikini, but since Harry was wearing nothing but Knee-length trunks and she didn't want anyone to think that he was available, she finally decided to go with him. She was disappointed when she reached the beach and saw that at least twenty women were topless. Most of them having 'Fleur' figures. Some of them, Hermione honestly thought that they couldn't find the big enough size. She turned to Harry, who was holding his towel, cooler, and umbrella. He didn't seem to notice, as his chin wasn't covered in drool yet.

"Where should we sit?" He asked.

"Harry... " she started slowly. "Did you even notice the people on the beach?"

Harry looked at the shore curiously. "What d'you—oh." Harry was quiet for a moment. Hermione was almost afraid to look at him. She was surprised when she heard him turn to her and ask her a question.

"How can they walk with those?" he asked curiously, no sense of awe in his voice, which made Hermione smile. "I mean, they look like midgets slipped in their... um... for a lack of a better word... cans."

Hermione giggled. "Cans, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a small blush of embarrassment (and not from looking at them, Hermione noted), "because for some reason, 'breasts' don't really sound right. Cans do, though. You know, trash cans?"

Hermione laughed fully and pulled him towards the beach.

"Hey, 'Mione?" Harry asked as he cooked dinner in the kitchen. He was fixing lasagna from scratch.

"Yes, dear," She replied as she pulled out a two bottles of water from the magically enlarged fridge. She walked over to him and handed him a bottle. She loved watching him cook, but she knew she shouldn't try to learn the art.

Harry colored a bit at the nickname, but continued. "I've been doing a bit of a read on New Zealand. I thought it was in Australia? The book says it's not. I'm confused." He said as he placed the second layer sheet on his masterpiece.

"Well... " Hermione hesitated. She really didn't want to tell him this. "I... lied, actually. I knew that you and Ron had no idea where New Zealand was. I told you that I placed them in Australia, so if Voldemort read your mind, he would immediately take Death Eaters there, but instead, they were miles and miles away. I hope you're not mad at me." She said all this, looking down at the ground, not noticing the shocked expression on Harry's face. Harry cupped her chin up and gave her a chaste kiss.

"Hermione, I could never be mad at you, for one. And I think your plan was brilliant! But there was just one problem... what if someone read your mind?"

Hermione, now glad that Harry wasn't mad at her, grinned. "Well, it would take them a while to search in here, wouldn't it?" She used her thumb and middle finger and put them on her head. She spread the fingers apart to make it look like she was measuring the size of her cranium. "It would take years, it would."

Harry laughed and let go of her, covering the creation with toppings and placing it in the oven. They went into the den and watched the TV. Thankfully, the fridge is too far from the TV to interfere. Since the fridge would malfunction because of its magic surrounding it, Harry placed a very powerful cooling charm on the inside. Hermione smirked whenever she pulled out a bottle of water and saw that there was a thin layer of ice at the top, blocking the water from her mouth.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?" She asked as they sat down together. Hermione let Harry sit down first, then laid down next to him, her head resting on his lap. She purred a little when she felt finger strumming through her hair delicately.

"If you love me, then how do you feel 'bout Ron?"

Hermione tensed about that subject. Harry felt this and hastily added, "But, you don't have to tell me, I was just asking."

"No, that's okay, Harry. You deserve the right to know, after all." She took a deep breath. "To be honest, I don't know what happened. Some of it is hazy. I don't think I'll ever love him in that way, and frankly, I don't know why I ever thought of him that way."

Harry looked at her for a long moment in confusion before nodding slowly. "Strange... I think that's the same way I felt about Ginny. I mean, she's attractive, and could probably get any guy she wants to date her. But... I don't know. She used to be like a sister to me. And you'll be happy to know that you pack more of a kick in your kisses than she does."

Hermione blushed and smiled. "And you should be happy to know that I felt quite a shock in your kisses too."

"What about your kiss with Ron?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I already told you about that," She said, waving it off, but continuing. "There was no spark. It was almost like kissing my brother. And you can't pull away from a kiss when you're being picked up and spun around. And I had to keep my mouth closed anyway. He tried to stick his tongue in my mouth like an axe through lumber. Sometimes, I wonder if Lavender actually liked that." She shuddered, causing Harry to laugh.

After a week and five days of searching, they ran out of Wilkins's on the page and started flying back to their hotel room.

"Hermione, did you drop them off in New Zealand?" When Hermione nodded, Harry advised that they should check some more cities that are close to New Zealand. He then asked her what kind of house they lived in when they lived in London.

"It was a condo, but that would've shown up, or we would've at least seen it," Hermione replied. "Harry... you don't think they... live on the street, right?" Harry heard her voice quivering with fear. "What if they're already—?"

"They're alive, Hermione," Harry interrupted. "Have faith. They're dentists; they should at least have a good, simple house. It's been almost a year."

"There's a problem about that," Hermione said, wiping tears from her eyes, "I didn't actually give them a job. I was too busy worrying about helping you."

"They still have their degrees for dentistry, right?" After a nod from Hermione, he continued. "Then, don't worry, they'll most likely be dentists, then. I'm sure we'll find—"

But he was immediately stopped by the wonderful sight before him. Harry had just found Hermione's parents.

"Ron? Let me talk to you for a minute."

Ron was just passing the door when George Weasley's face popped in front of him.

Ron raised his eyebrows for a moment, then shrugged, before walking into the room.

"Yeah, George?" He looked around the room. He just realized that this was Percy's old room. George and Percy had grown close since the war. It's almost like Perce had taken the place of Fred, although he knew that it was never possible to replace him. Ron idly wondered if Percy will be the one working with George in the shop. He chuckled a bit as he thought of the names Gerce and Porge.

"What's so funny?" Percy asked innocently as he closed the door behind him and discreetly used a nonverbal charm to lock the door with his wand. Ron wasn't even aware that Percy came in the room.

"Nothin'," Ron said. "Hey Perce. What d'you wanna talk about?" He turned his head to George. George eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then spoke.

"Well, dear brother, I just happened to notice that you have been rather happy a day after Harry and Hermione left. It was just all of a sudden. You were sulking for a full day after they left, then mum pulled you to the side, and then you've been quite chipper after that. In fact, I noticed that mum had finally left her room to cook dinner since they left. What happened to you two?"

Ron looked unphased, but he felt a sweat break. Had he been that obvious? He was mentally cursing himself for the slip-up. He was just too happy when he heard the news from his mum that he didn't care about anything else. All he knew was that he was happy. And that was his downfall.

But he still had a chance to weasel his way out of this. After all, he was a Weasley. "She's cooking dinner," he lied. Knowing George's sense of humor and his own appetite, he would laugh and dismiss him, and talk behind his back about him and his fetishes.

Apparently, he didn't know this George, as he was still gazing at him with a critical eye. He felt eyes boring into the back of his neck and guessed that Percy was doing the same as he. George looked him in the eyes for a few seconds and said, "I don't believe you."

Ron feigned an embarrassed expression. "What, I like her food."

Percy came around to face his youngest brother. Ron noticed that he had a slight twinkle in his blue eyes, one that reminded him of Dumbledore. He felt a small, barely noticeable tingle in his mind and quickly turned away.

"You're hiding something," Percy said with narrowed eyes, "and I almost had it, too."

"You were doing that Legliecy thing, weren't you?" Ron asked angrily, closing his eyes so his mind wouldn't be invaded again.

"It's called 'Legilimency' Ronniekins," George said with annoyance. "Only Merlin knows why Hermione even kissed you."

Percy did something Ron hadn't heard him do in a while; he snickered. "Probably because the guy she wanted was with our sister."

"Shut up!" Ron yelled, pulling out his wand, but before he could pull it out, two wands were on his throat. He did his best to not look like what he was feeling at the moment, and that was extremely scared. "I know what you're thinking about, but it's not gonna happen."

"How do you know what we're thinking, dear brother?" George asked with glee. It seemed that scaring the piss out of his ickle Ronniekins brought him back to the good-old times.

"Unless he's thinking about the bet we made after they left?" Percy asked George, eerily sounding like Fred.

"I hope he doesn't know about it," George said with feigned fear.

"Know about what?" Ron asked, getting really pissed off.

"Oh I guess we can tell you, after asking so nicely," George said sarcastically as they both lowered their wands. "Percy and I made a bet. Percy bet that they will get together while looking for Hermione's parents."

Ron just waved his hand dismissively. "You'll lose that bet. George'll win for sure."

"Really? I guess I can get my fifty galleons then, Perce."

"FIFTY GALLEONS?!" Ron almost screamed.

"Yes, brother, because unlike you, we were smart enough to get jobs instead of feeling bad about ourselves."

Ron had no retort, but his face was turning red. "Well... I... wait, what did you bet, anyway? Me getting with Hermione?" He added proudly.

Percy tried to suppress a smirk, but ultimately failed. "George here, bet that they'll be married by the time that they get back."

It took all of Ron's strength not to laugh at the mere thought of this. Why would the savior of the Wizarding World want to marry Hermione 'I'd-rather-a-book-(or-Lockheart)-take-my-virginity-than-a-boy' Granger? Although he'll make sure he's responsible for that and not some bloody book, but that's another thing...

"Harry and... Hermione!? Married?!" He suddenly couldn't hide his laughter any longer, and almost fell to the ground laughing.

George and Percy gave a look at each other that obviously said that Ron was up to something. They looked at Ron, who was still laughing. Apparently, it was something either really funny or really horrible.

"Why was I so stupid?" Harry slapped himself on the forehead. At the questioning look from Hermione's teary eyes, he continued. "I mean, if they didn't have a daughter, and they were both dentists, and they lived by themselves, what would they do?"

Hermione thought and hard about Harry's question for a short moment. She couldn't figure out the answer. "I don't know, Harry, what do you think?"

"Use your imagination, Hermione. If they were both dentists and had no one to live with, do you think they would have a house?"

"No... " Hermione mused slowly. "No, they wouldn't. They would've opened up a business... " Hermione snapped her fingers together as it all clicked into place. "And they would live at their business place, wouldn't they?"

Harry smiled and nodded. He waved his hand down and let the broom go still. Hermione looked down to where he was pointing. She could see a small, house-sized office. It was looking a little shabby, but had quite a few customers. And then she saw it—a sign that said in big, black, and bold letters:

Wilkins' Dentistry Clinic

Wendell and Monica, PhD's

7 Birchbriar Court

Harry lowered the broom until they reached the roof. Hermione was speechless for a moment; she never expected to find them so quickly. After a moment of seeing Harry smile with a small tear in his eye, she spoke.

"Harry... you found my parents... and so quickly!" She screamed the last part, causing patients who were walking in and out to look around for the source. Harry didn't stop her, though. She was about to meet her parents after a year. If she was happy, he was happy. She was able to scream all she wanted now, since they were disillusioned.

"I can't believe it! What am I going to say? How am I going to explain?"

"Breathe, Hermione." Harry said, still smiling. "You can't say anything to them yet. They don't know who you are. You can worry about that while you do the spell that you're going to use to bring their memories back."

This brought Hermione back to the present. She couldn't freak out, now. She'll wait until her parents remember her.

"I'm not going to use a spell, Harry." Hermione said in a somewhat calm voice. She fumbled in her pockets and pulled out two phials labeled 'mum' and 'dad'. "I left this at the Burrow before we left a year ago." Hermione explained. Harry looked closely at the phials. They were swirling and silvery. He instantly knew what they were, as they were the memories of Hermione.

"It hurts me to say this, Hermione," Harry said with a tear rolling down his cheek, "but I think that we have to wait until everyone leaves." He wiped the tear away.

"I know," Hermione sniffled. "I just want them back. I'm tired of waiting. I don't want to go back. I'll wait right here and watch them."

Harry only smiled and flicked out his wand. "You don't have to wait long." He said quietly as he pointed his wand up into the air. "I have an idea." He closed his eyes tightly, as if trying to remember something. He then started waving the wand around in complex motions and murmured a long string of incantations. The tip of the wand started to glow brightly, and people who were entering and leaving the building began to look up at it. It went brighter, and brighter, until, as soon as it started, it stopped. Harry lowered his wand and looked down at all the people who were staring at the top of the building, at a disillusioned Harry and Hermione.

Hermione stared at him in amazement and confusion and saw the supposedly levitating wand waving around in a pattern that for the first time, she didn't recognize. She was amazed that he could do a spell that looked incredibly complicated. Harry looked at Hermione as the people started walking away, even the people who were about to enter the building. He had to walk around the building to do a warding spell, so why were people walking away? Didn't they just see a bright golden light on top of this building?

"Harry... " Hermione began hesitantly, "... what did you just do?"

Harry grinned. "A confundus shield. Anyone who walks through it will either go home or to another dentist. The ones coming in will go immediately to another dentist. The ones coming out will go home without looking back at the office. It's kind of like a ward, but a bit more effective. The only people we have to wait for are those who are still in there. If you want, and I'm pretty sure you do, we can confund the waiting room, too."

Hermione formed a slow smile and ran up to Harry and kissed him. When she pulled back, she asked ecstatically, "How did you know how to do that?"

"I thought I was going to kill Voldemort by really dueling," He explained, "so I started practicing a bunch of complicated spells over the year. I was trying to see if I could learn as many spells as you did... you know, to make up all those years I was goofing off instead of listening to you."

Hermione smiled at him. "Harry, you're sweet, but why didn't you get me to help you?"

Harry was about to tell her the truth; Ron would be jealous if she spent more time helping him. He decided not to tell her; not now at least. "I wanted to surprise you." He said with a slight blush. At least he told her half the truth.

Hermione smiled and kissed him again. "You are the sweetest, and I am very surprised, by the way."

"Good." Harry said as he pulled back and grabbed the broom. Then it wasn't all for nothing." He sat on the broom behind Hermione and kicked up a little. He flew over the ledge and through the doors of the office, still disillusioned. He immediately began casting Confundus spells at people, while Hermione followed his lead, looking at the office door, waiting with baited breath to see if they would come out.

He cast a spell on the door, so that it would lock. At a curious look from Hermione, he whispered, "Some of these people might have kids in there."

Hermione silently nodded and kept casting spells. When they were done with the fifteen or so people that were there, they all had a blank expression on their face. It was safe to talk, now.

"Hermione," he started, "I know you are extremely happy to see your parents after a year, but please—"

"Don't scream when I meet them or try to hug them?" Hermione asked, figuring out his question. Harry grimly nodded. Hermione only smiled. "Harry, don't worry. I have a plan." She then turned to everyone in the room, who stared blankly at them. "Who has a child or is with someone who is in that room?"

She pointed towards the polished, mahogany door. Harry smirked and quickly disillusioned Hermione, as no one could see where she was pointing. Hermione blushed a little at this awkwardness, but didn't look away from the patients. A moment later, after everyone saw where she was pointing to, all of them shook their heads. Harry asked them if any of them had a problem with their teeth. They all nodded. He told them all to go to the closest dentist's office. He told them that they are not to remember that they walked into the clinic today.

They all stood up and, in a single-file line, headed straight out the door.

Hermione slowly walked to the door, wand in a tight grip. She pointed the wand at the door. She nonverbally unlocked it and opened it. She slowly pushed it open, Harry right behind her.

And she saw them. First, she saw a mature looking version of her. She looked to be in her late thirties. Her brown and bushy hair was tied in a ponytail, so she could clearly see the patient that she was treating at the moment.

She didn't recognize the couple at the door, as she was watching her patient take a swig of water.

"Swish and spit, and yer done!" She said in a slight Australian accent. "You done, Wen?"

A man with brown hair came into the room from the door on the side. He looked young, but strands of his hair were grey.

"I'm done, Monie. Just let 'im go. Got a lot more people to go, I imagine. I—"

He stopped abruptly, and all of a sudden had a blank look in his eyes.

"Wen, are you alright?" Monica asked, turning around to see him. A very small, red jet of light zoomed past her and hit the man she was treating. All of the water fell from his mouth onto the paper towel around his neck and shirt. He closed his eyes and his head fell back. He was sleeping. Before she could even turn her head to look back at her patient in a panic, she, too, felt... nothing.

Harry and Hermione walked up to them and Harry pointed his wand at the patient. "What should I do with him?" he asked.

"We'll worry about that later." She said as she instantly pulled out her mother's phial and placed the wand tip inside. She swirled around her wand and pulled it out. All of the silvery wisps were wrapped around the wand. She pulled out the other phial and held it out for Harry.

Harry grabbed the phial and did the same thing that Hermione did. When the wisps came out of the phial and onto Harry's wand he absently thought, 'It looks like spaghetti's ghosts.'

Hermione placed the wand tip at her mother's head and watched in fascination and worry as the strings of memories slid back into her temple. Harry did the same and stepped back a little.

"Are you ready?" he asked, pointing his wand at her dad's head.

Hermione took a deep breath and took a step back, pointing the wand tip at her mother's temple. "Yes... I-... I think I'm ready. 1... 2... "

" _Ennervate_."


	11. Found: Dan and Emma

They both stood there, blinking dazedly at their daughter and a young, handsome man. They both shook their head wildly and looked closer at their daughter. They did not remember her looking so tan and…more mature-looking. They placed their hand on their hand on their head from the shaking. They were in silence for a moment. Hermione couldn’t hold her patience anymore. She broke the silence and asked hesitantly, “D-do you know who I am?”

Mrs. Granger wordlessly and quickly ran up to Hermione into a deep hug that could easily crush Mrs. Weasley. “Of course, I know who you are, Hermione,” She cried as tears freely ran down her cheek when her daughter started hugging back. “You’re my daughter…who’s been gone for a year…and you’re back!” Mr. Granger silently ran up to them a second later and enveloped them into a family hug after some more recovery time.

“You’re back,” he mumbled, “you’re… oh, thank God, you’re back!”

“We missed you so much!” Mrs. Granger squealed.

“That’s not possible, mum,” Hermione retorted, tears falling freely.

“I know, honey,” she said, loosening the hug a bit, “but it feels right to say that, isn’t it?”

Harry smiled at the reunion; he felt the same way when he saw his parents in the forest. Granted, they were not actually there, but their souls were, at least. It was another reason why he should try to find the Resurrection stone/ring. After a few seconds of tearful silences, he walked over to the patient and extracted the memories of the man getting knocked out. It should be on the forefront of his mind, since it was the last thing he saw. If he took too much memory, then he wouldn’t know that his teeth were fixed.

Mr. Granger pulled back and looked at Hermione, taking the sight before him in. “My God, Hermione, what have you been doing all of this year, you look like a woman!” As an afterthought, he said, “And why did you send us to New Zealand?”

“We can answer that question, later, Dan.” She said, staring at Hermione’s neck, and the wonderful piece of jewelry that hung there. “Hermione…that must have cost at least a thousand pounds. Did you buy that yourself?”

Dan also looked at the fancy (and pricey) looking necklace. “Emma…that charm is a heart.”

Emma’s eyes widened and looked at the charm. Even the charm looked very expensive, and seemed to glow and float from her chest without the need of the sterling platinum chain. She slowly looked up at Harry, who was hovering their patient outside. She saw the lightning shaped scar on his forehead and knew from Hermione’s many stories who he was, and she did remember seeing him once in Diagon Alley many years back. He still, at least, has the scruffy hair (and those horrible glasses).

She looked back down at Hermione and asked the silent question. Hermione smiled a smile that Emma had never seen so bright before. She nodded, gave a little squeal and hugged her even tighter, the tears not fading anytime soon. Mrs. Granger knew that her daughter always liked Harry, and if it weren’t already, it was soon-to-be love. When Harry left the room to go into the waiting room, Dan pulled back, not noticing their exchange, and looked around. “Who was that bloke that was here a minute ago? I know he’s a friend of yours. Have we met him?”

Hermione smirked, while Emma looked at him as though he was the daftest man in the world. “That was Harry, dear. Harry Potter. The boy that she has been talking about for six years in her letters and during the summers. The boy that she is currently dating.” She finished with a smile.

But Dan blanched. Very quickly. “Dating? Without even telling us?”

“Well, you didn’t know me at the time,” Hermione calmly stated, “and it happened recently.”

Emma returned to staring at the necklace in awe. “It’s about time, you know. I knew it since first year. Dan said that it would be that Ronald fellow, even though we never really see his name in the letters, and when I do, it has to say, ‘Harry and Ron.’ I’m so proud that you’ve finally got him, dear. I’m just sad that I didn’t know who you were when you did. Now, before we meet Harry again, you have to tell us what happened all year!”

And so, Hermione explained. All from when they left the Burrow to when Harry defeated the Dark Lord. She even explained what happened to Neville’s grandmother, so they would understand why she did this to them. She took out some unpleasant parts like her being put under the Cruciatis Curse by Bellatrix, or the kiss with Ron. She gauged their reactions. There were several horrified looks and gasps about several things, (such as breaking into the ministry) and Emma let out a small “Eep!” when she told them about their visit to Godric’s Hollow. She finished with the rebounding curse of Voldemort. Before she removed their memories almost a year ago, she gave them full clearance over what she, Harry, and Ron has done over the past six years. Their first reaction was to, of course, remove her from the school, but she reminded them that not only that she was of age in both worlds, but she didn’t plan on going back to the school. Eventually they gave in and went into hiding (without even knowing after the memories were removed).

They were silent for a moment after she finished. Finally, Emma spoke. “So, when did you and Harry start dating?”

“On the plane ride here.” She said. To make it sound a tiny bit romantic, she added, “First class.”

Emma nodded approvingly while Dan mumbled something unintelligibly and they all headed out through the door to see Harry laying out on the couch, taking a quick kip. “Harry?” Hermione whispered in his ear, causing him to shiver a little and wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and grinned, “Yes, love?” causing Hermione to blush. He had never called her ‘love’, before, and she quite liked the sound of it. “My parents want to meet you.” He tensed for a moment before he quickly stood up and walked over to Dan and Emma with Hermione, not wanting to keep them waiting. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. I’m Harry Potter.” He said a little hesitantly, shaking each of their hands.

“Harry, from all the stories Hermione told us, we know all about you.” Emma said, making Hermione put down her head in embarrassment. Harry reddened a little. Emma stepped back to look at Harry up and down. “Well, the description fits,” She said and continued in an airy voice, similarly to Trelawney’s, whether she knew it or not. “Deep, emerald, mysterious eyes that you could easily drown in and never resurface; impossibly untidy raven hair that you want to keep combing all day to make it straight; and round glasses that brings out the kid in your mature appearance.” Hermione kept waving to her mum back and forth with a shaking face as bright red as Harry’s, signaling for her to stop. She didn’t really say all of that. She thought it, but didn’t say it. Emma noticed this the whole time, and looked away from Harry to her daughter when she was done. “Sorry, dear, but I have a year of embarrassment to make up,” she said with a mischievous smile.

“Mum!” she yelled, now that the attention was all on her.

“Yes, dear,” Emma said in a sickly sweet voice. “What, you don’t miss your mother?”

“No, of course I miss you,” she said frantically, “It’s just I don’t miss your embarrassing me!”

“Oh, well, that can’t be helped,” Emma waved dismissively. “At least I’m not like some parents. I don’t listen to your kind of music, your father and I don’t even try to wear your generation’s clothes, and the only place we’re seen with you is the Library, even though that’s the only place you ever go during the summers. Hopefully, Harry can keep you out of there at least two days apart.”

“I’ll try, but I doubt I’ll be successful,” Harry said teasingly, rewarded with a light slap on the arm by his girlfriend.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Hermione turned to ask Harry if they could stay in New Zealand for a few more days. Harry said it was okay, as long as both of them didn’t have to face the Weasley’s. This got raised eyebrows from both parents.

“Who are the Weasleys?” Emma asked.

“Well, a year ago,” Hermione cautiously started, “Harry broke up with Ginny, who he only dated for a couple of weeks, because of our Horcrux hunt. He didn’t get back together with her, but we think she’s okay with it, because she realized that she liked him for his titles and fame and money, and she was dating someone else during our year abroad. Her mum and dad are pretty upset, though.” hoping they wouldn’t ask anything to do with her affiliation with them. She was out of luck.

“There must have been something else, though, right?” Emma asked. “Surely that can’t be the only reason if you’re afraid of ?”

“Well…” Hermione started, knowing she was going to say this to her parents sooner or later. “Sadly enough, her older brother is Ron. He sort of fancied me for a while, but never showed it.” Hermione heard Harry sigh, ‘Ever since fourth year.’ “Well, he said that he liked me at the end, well, during the battle, and the day after, I told him nothing could come out of it. We’ve argued hundreds of times, and it would only lead to a lot more.” Hermione saw, out of the corner of her eye, a smile light up on Harry’s face when she didn’t even mention her kissing Ron.

Emma and Dan nodded. “You did always call him an insufferable git and wished that he could be shorter so you could deck him.” Dan said with a wispy look in his eyes. “Ah, the first sign of love from a bloke.”

“No, it’s not!” Hermione said incredulously. “It just means that Ron’s mental.” She finished quietly, “And I did deck him.”

Harry shook his head with a smile as he walked to the middle of the room and felt for the still disillusioned broom. He found it and illusioned it. Hermione whispered in his ear and suggested that they leave and take them to the other room in their suite. Harry’s smile faltered at that, since that meant her parents might find out about their sleeping arrangements. He brought down the Confundus shield and Hermione’s parents were side-alonged with them to the hotel entrance.

“This is a nice inn!” Dan complimented. “This must’ve cost you a lot!”

“I’m good for it,” Harry nervously said, still a little self-conscious about people knowing how much money he had.

“Come on, let’s get to your room.” Hermione said, walking over to Harry.

“Oh, we’re not staying long.” Dan said, silently wondering how much money Harry had to get a suite.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked as she took Harry’s hand.

“We can’t leave our patients.” Emma said. “Hermione… I don’t know how to say this, so I’m going to be blunt. I don’t think we should return to London.”

‘That was certainly blunt’, Harry thought.

“What?” Hermione half-screeched, snapping her head to her mother. “You’re not leaving? What about me?”

“Aren’t you considered as an adult in the magical world and ours?” Emma asked, dumbfounded.

“Well, yes… but—”

“And besides, honey,” Dan continued, “From what you two just did to get us here, couldn’t you just pop up on us any time?”

“Not really, I don’t think we’re able to apparate across the ocean…but we can use Portkeys…Ministry approved, of course…but even better, we could hook you up to the floo connection…and I remember your address…” Hermione kept muttering, trying to convince herself that maybe she can leave them there and they’ll be happy.

“We’re safer here than in London anyway,” Emma smiled, knowing that she and Dan had already won, “and we get more money here. And besides, I’ve grown fond of the animals in New Zealand.” She smiled. “Just think of it as…a vacation… with a job. And before you even ask,” She quickly said when her daughter was about to speak, “we don’t need any money. The look of our clinic is really a ploy, so no one could think we would have any money to rob. We are actually quite successful in our business.”

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. At first sight of the office, she thought that they really were on the borderline. They did have some good points about why they should stay in New Zealand, what with everything that happened. She could really think of it as a vacation…with a job. It wasn’t comforting for her, but it was for them, at least.

“You could visit us as much as you want, darling.” Dan said as he put one arm around her and hugged her. “We love you, and want to still see you a lot, but at the moment (and hopefully forever) we don’t have any children to take care of.”

“So your father and I get the rest of our lives off!” Emma exclaimed as she wrapped her arm around Dan and Hermione’s shoulders. “Besides, it’s not like you don’t have anyone to take care of.” Emma continued as she winked in Harry’s direction. After a few moments of the reunited family hugging (which, by some coaxing, Harry joined), they started talking again. Hermione decided to keep quiet and watch her parents converse with Harry. He seemed nervous at first, but grew more and more comfortable talking. They knew not to ask any questions about his parents or guardians, or his childhood in general, so the questioning was a bit subdued, like Hogwarts (except the bad parts, which they knew). They already knew a lot about Harry, so they only asked him simple questions. ‘Have you ever tried contacts or less silly looking glasses? Who would want to hide those eyes?’ ‘Have you ever tried to manage your hair?’ Hermione smiled when relaxed face of Harry finally came out. He told them that he was definitely going to get new glasses, and that he’ll try contacts. He said that his aunt always tried to cut his hair, but it kept growing back the next day.

“That’s probably because it was against your will.” Hermione pointed out. She was about to again say how powerful that magic was, but she knew that Harry was one of the most talented and powerful wizard in the world, and she had to get used to it.

“Well, I’ll try getting my hair cut, since I really need to straighten it out,” Harry said, mussing up his raven hair. “I don’t think there’s any conditioner for this.”

“Don’t worry, Harry,” Emma said, amused, “I’m sure Hermione will comb it all day to straighten it for you.”

“Mum, I never even said all of that! And as you can tell by my hair, I’m not very good at combing.”

“You should have kept the shampoo that we bought you a couple years back.” Emma said in a sing-song voice.

“It was a very rare shampoo, too.” Dan commented.

They stopped at the door to the hotel room and opened it. Dan and Emma walked around the almost-house in awe. At first, they were looking around the suite, amazed by the size of the two rooms, but a little dismayed to see that only one room had luggage—around one bed.

“Hermione…Harry…” Emma said slowly, fidgeting a bit, “… are you two…?”

“No, mum, we’re not doing anything.” Hermione quickly confirmed, turning pink. “I’m waiting until marriage for that.”

“Oh thank God,” Both parents said at the same time as they gave a sigh of relief.

Dan tried to calm down and looked around a bit more, trying to forget the scene that seemed to drill its way into his head. His only daughter, sleeping in bed with the man she was in love with for quite a while. He was a bit skeptical—how could they not do anything together? But he then remembered that this was Hermione he was thinking about. Hermione always does what’s safe and what’s right. But then he remembered what she told them the adventures and dangers they did over the year. He shuddered a little.

He took Hermione’s word for it that they weren’t doing anything, but still felt uneasy about them sleeping in the same bed. He knew that Hermione was completely smitten with Harry, and that she didn’t have long to wait for marriage if they were both in love with each other (which still uneased him). From the looks and beams they’ve given each other that he’s seen so far, he knew it was only a matter of time. When Hermione walked to the kitchen to get something for everyone to eat out of the fridge, Dan and Emma walked up to Harry.

“We’ll need to ask you some questions, Harry.” Dan began politely. Harry hesitantly nodded.

“Starting off,” Emma asked, “are you in love with my daughter?”

Harry answered immediately. “Yes ma’am, very.”

Emma nodded, smiling, while Dan asked another question. “Are you a virgin?”

“Yes sir, I am.” Harry answered.

“Are you planning on asking my daughter to marry you?” Emma asked.

“Yes, but when she’s ready.” Harry answered immediately and truthfully. He loved Hermione more than anything, and he definitely wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and was almost sure that she wanted the same, but only when she wanted to take that big step.

Emma and Dan beamed and grumbled, respectively, at that answer. Now Dan decided to give him a test (to give him a reason to hate Harry, of course). “Have you ever seen my daughter naked?”

Harry tried not to show any surprise, while his heart was trying to fight its way out of his chest. He didn’t want to lie to them. He knew that the best way to own their trust is to tell the truth, even if they don’t want to hear it. “Yes, but it was an accident.” He replied, looking down at the ground, ready for the outburst. It didn’t come.

Dan looked at Emma, a little more than angry that Hermione would be starkers in front of a boy, or anyone, for that matter. But when he heard the second part of his answer, he eased…a bit. Emma paled also, but when Harry was done she asked, “What do you mean?”

Harry sighed, relieved, and chanced to look back up at the Grangers. “She was about to take a shower when I was sleeping and she made a sound and…I woke up.”

Emma nodded at this. He was honest with them, and he’s still a virgin; that’s all that matters. However, they had one more request.

“Show us your teeth.” They said at he same time.

“What?” Harry asked, confused.

“Show us your teeth.” Emma smiled. “We’re dentists, dear. We can’t let our daughter date a man with cavities, can we?”

“Well…” Harry started, afraid that he won’t be with Hermione because of his dental records. “I’ve never been to a dentist before. But I don’t think I’ve ever had cavities.” He quickly added, seeing the shocked expressions. Both calmed down somewhat, and eventually, after saying that when they find his guardians, they were going to have a nice, long talk with them, they started checking his teeth.

He didn’t have any cavities, which left them a little confused. What left them the most confused, however, was that Harry’s teeth were very white. When asked how his teeth could be so pearly, he replied that he brushed his teeth for two minutes twice a day and used mouthwash. Mr. Granger said it should’ve taken much more than that, and that’s when Hermione came back into the room.

“Much more than what?” She asked as she handed sandwiches to them.

“Dear, have you noticed how white Harry’s teeth are?” Emma asked, stretching Harry’s mouth so Hermione could see.

“Yes, I know.” Hermione said as she stuffed a sandwich in the in the stretched mouth of Harry’s, causing the older couple to snigger. “I still wonder how he does it, but the reason is probably the same as how his hair grows back.”

Harry bit the sandwich and pulled it out of his mouth, chewing. “That explains a lot. But I’ve seen a lot of other wizards and witches with bad teeth.”

Emma grinned. “I’m guessing that since you’re so good with magic, you can do pretty much anything just by thinking it.”

Harry nodded interestingly and thought to try it out. If there was one physical appearance that he would like to change…

He closed his eyes and focused with all of his strength on one thing. _‘Make it disappear…make it disappear…make it—’_

Hermione’s gasp interrupted Harry’s thoughts. He quickly opened his eyes to see what happened. Hermione’s hand was over her mouth, her eyes widened, focused on his face. Dan and Emma stared at Harry’s face also, dumbfounded. Harry was wondering why they were looking at him like that, until he realized what they were looking at. Hermione was the first to speak.

“Harry…your scar…” She quickly pulled her wand out and tried to conjure a mirror, but at the shock of the moment, conjured a square of glass. Snapping out of the trance, she transfigured it into a mirror and handed it to Harry. Harry slowly took it and looked at his forehead. His scar was slowly fading away, and the grin slowly grew on his face. The scar wasn’t completely gone, but it was good enough to not be seen for people to point at it and whisper. Hermione ran up and hugged him.

“Why didn’t I think of that before? I’ve always wanted the scar to disappear!” Harry said enthusiastically as they pulled back.

“It was a curse scar, Harry. But it’s not anymore!” She said, giving his hand a squeeze. By this time, Dan (grudgingly) and Emma walked up to them and hugged Harry. Hermione told them all about Harry’s scar since the end of first year, and were just as happy as Hermione was.

“You look much better without the scar being completely visible, dear.” Emma commented. “Although I shouldn’t approve of my daughter with a man that has tattoo, I’ll make an exception.”

They talked for a few more minutes, and Dan and Emma decided that they should be going back; they never put the closing sign on the door, but luckily, Harry locked it. They bid Harry and Hermione farewell and a promise to come back the next day for a day out.

“You okay, love?” Harry asked her as they left.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said, wiping a few tears from her eyes as she spoke. “It’s just… I know it’s been like I was just going to school and coming back, but there were so many times that I almost thought…”

“That you were never gonna see them again?” Harry asked, understanding. Hermione silently nodded. “That’s how I always felt, but in a different sense.”

“What do you mean, Harry?” She asked, her tears forgotten for the moment.

“Well, you know how many times I almost died in the past, right?” Ignoring her teary snort/sniffle, he continued. “Well, almost every time I almost died, I thought I would be able to see my parents again. And every time I am close to death and then come out alive, I get disappointed. I mean, back then, I had nothing to live for, and everyone that loved me died. I thought you fancied Ron, and I knew Ron fancied you, so you guys would comfort each other if I er, you know, died.”

Before Harry knew it, he was tackled to the ground by a now openly sobbing Hermione, clinging desperately onto him. He didn’t even realize that she was getting louder when he was talking. “I’m sorry, ‘Mione, I don’t think that anymore, honest!”

“It was my fault, Harry!” she sobbed into his chest. He actually wanted to die! Of course, no one could blame him, seeing as how he was raised. But the thought of someone you love actually wanting to kill yourself...was just too much for her.

“It was not your fault!” Harry said sternly to her. “You did nothing wrong."

“That's right—I did nothing.”

“No,” Harry said with a sigh. He knew it was pointless. She would continue to cry, and all he could do was hold her. He would broach this subject later, but for now…she needed comfort.


	12. Uncomfortable Situations

The next morning, Harry and Hermione were entwined in each other's arms and legs, sleeping peacefully, and ignorant of the world around them, not noticing the small ball of fluff flying around the room and the two figures staring at them.

"Oh, should we really wake them up? They look so cute…"

"Emma, are you seeing what I'm seeing?  _ Of course _ we have to wake them up!"

"Oh, Dan, stop it, they have on clothes."

" _Barely_!"

"You think I should tell Hermione about the story of when we were in college together? How most nights… hell, all nights in our senior year… you were never in your room, and I—"

"No, you really don't have to tell her, Emmie…"

"Oh, I think I should. Our daughter has been in love with this man for over three years! If she wants to do anything, she has my permission, and so does Harry."

"How do you know she's in love?"

"Have you seen the way she was glowing and the way he was blushing when she kissed him on the cheek on the train a few years back? I almost made her go back and ask him out on the spot! Now I wish I had, actually…"

"It could've been the sun, y'know. The sun always makes Hermione smile, and the boy appeared to have red cheeks by the glow."

"The glow from the sun or Hermione?"

"It doesn't matter, now, but do how you know it was love, anyway? It could've been a small crush."

"Firstly, She had never kissed  _ anyone _ on the cheek before except us. Secondly, I've never seen her that happy in her entire life, except for the smile that she gave me when I wondered if the two were dating. Lastly, she told me after we got home that day. And yes, it was indeed love. I'm sure that my daughter knows the difference between love and like. I always knew they would be together. You still owe me ten daily foot-rubs, by the way."

"As  _ much _ as I want to talk some more about this, I think we should wake them up before that flying… thing attacks them in their sleep."

"You just want them out of the same bed, Dan."

"I can't help it. She is my only daughter and—"

"—and if we say anything against Harry, we've lost her, so don't tell me you don't want to lose her."

"What makes you say that she'll choose Harry over her own parents?" Dan exclaimed, more in shock.

"What's the only reason she stays at Hogwarts for Christmas some years? Why was our vacation cut short in her fifth year on one Christmas? Why are we in New Zealand now? Any way you see it, whether you know it or not, our daughter revolves around Harry Potter. She has been enamoured with him since first year and has not stopped. And now, looking at them, I don't think it ever will now that she knows that he feels the same way. Ultimately, if she had a choice between Harry and us, she'll take a long time to think, of course, and will probably be crying afterwards, but do you know who'll be comforting her after her decision? One person. Not two.

"Dan, are you still listening to me?"

"I still don't like it."

"Dan, the only people you ever liked is me, Hermione, and your family. And since Harry is going to become family soon…"

"Don't talk like that!"

"You heard him yesterday, he would like to propose to Hermione. What do you think he meant?"

"I didn't take it seriously!"

"Quiet, Dan, you'll wake them!"

"That's what I'm trying to do, Emmie."

"See, she moved!"

"Probably trying to escape his grasp."

"She's the one using his chest as a pillow. Dan, why can't you understand the fact that they are madly in love and they belong together? We are going out today; you and Harry will bond and Hermione and I will catch up. Unless you want to stay here? This place does look really nice."

"Fine, now can we wake them up? That furball is getting on my nerves. We shouldn't have let it in."

"I still think we should let them sleep a bit longer."

"If you weren't such loud talkers," A voice interrupted, "I would wholeheartedly agree with you. Good morning, mother. Good morning, father."

"Umm… good morning, Hermione," Emma sheepishly said. "How much did you hear?"

"Morning, Hermione," Mr. Granger said uneasily. It seemed that his daughter waking up with Harry in her bed was routine. He had honestly hoped that Harry snuck in bed in the middle of the night to 'cuddle up' with his daughter. It would give him a chance to get rid of him, and for Hermione to realize that all boys were untrustworthy. That hopefulness was squashed when Hermione gave Harry a small squeeze around his waist before she slipped her arms (and unbeknownst to them, her legs) off of him. She lifted the covers and got up from the bed, and Dan had to choke back a gasp while Emma tried to contain her grin. Hermione only had on a tank top and green knickers.

Hermione looked up, oblivious of the looks on her parent's faces. "Oh, good morning, Pig."

"Pig?" Dan asked questionably, trying not to wrap his mind around yet another image that would make him shudder uncontrollably.

"Short for Pigwideon," Hermione explained, "Ron's pet. I think I see a letter tied to his leg. I really wish I had Harry's seeker skills…hold on a second…" She grabbed her wand on the headstand and pointed her wand at the happily bouncing owl, who looked like it was trying to get away from her and continue flying. "Accio Pigwideon!" Moments later, a happily struggling owl was being held firmly, yet gently, by Hermione as she tried to remove the letter from his leg.

"You know," Hermione said to her parents, still looking at Pig, "I would ask you both how you got in here, but Harry told me that he was missing his key last night. We used the summoning charm, like I just used on Pig, but It was nowhere in this room. But something told me that when you came in this room, the key did, too, right dad?"

"Damn," Dan muttered as he pulled the key out of his pocket and threw it on the bed. "Why did you have to have your mother's brain?"

"As always, he doesn't trust you," Emma said, shaking her head at them. "I didn't want to go with him, but I wanted to see you again. It was a long time, after all."

"But you didn't know me, then," Hermione said as she successfully removed the letter, "And It should only seem that you had a very long dream."

"It did seem like a long dream," Emma said, "but we were still there, dear. It feels like we were in a deep sleep. We thought about you subconsciously, but it never came to the front of our minds."

"Oh, I'm sorry for that. I thought I had all of your memories of me."

"You cannot make us forget about our daughter, honey."

"I thought magic would've made that possible," She muttered as she opened the letter. "Oh; this one's addressed to just Harry. Strange…" She rolled the parchment up, not wanting to pry, left the letter on the bed next to Harry, and left the room with her parents to avoid waking up Harry.

Minutes later, the sun shined on Harry through the window as if forcing him to wake up. He groggily opened his eyes and tried to block the sun with his hand, until he realized that there was no comforting presence near him. Letting his senses return, he heard people talking in the living room of the suite. He turned around to see that he was indeed, the only one in bed. The people talking sounded like her parents. That put Harry at ease again.

Just as he was about to go to sleep again, his hand hit something. He turned back over in bed to see a letter in Hermione's place. Curiosity piqued, he reached for his glasses and placed them on. Seeing the letter clearly now, he grabbed it.

_Harry,_

_How's it been, mate? Hermione give you any trouble? I told Pig that he had to give the note directly to you. Mum sent you a box of chocolates straight from Honeydukes. Pig couldn't send two boxes (when we get Merlin's Money, I'm gonna buy a better owl first) so you could just send it back so I could send the other box. I'm sure you understand why Hermione'll get a bigger one._

_She's been mad at me lately. First, she kisses me in the middle of the battle. Then, she breaks up with me after two days! She didn't even kiss me again! Could you believe that! I said it once, I'll say it again. That one is mental! What am I gonna do with her! Put in a few good words for me, would you, mate? Maybe she'll come to her senses while you guys are gone._

_Oh, and mum said she's going to send you chocolates every two weeks. They get addicting, you know, so I'm sure you won't complain. She's asking you not to pay her when you come back. She said that when you return, that'll be reward enough._

_Ginny says hi._

_Ron_

Harry didn't particularly know what he was to feel for Ron. Although he felt a little sad that Hermione was with him now, he would never regret it. So he did what he always did when he didn't understand what he was feeling at the moment; he shrugged. He had been hanging around Ron too much.

Harry looked around the room. There were no chocolates around the room, nothing wrapped or shimmering. Harry frowned, wondering if Hermione put the box in the fridge. He got up slowly, cracked his back and neck a few times, then trudged out of the room.

Hermione and her parents walked into the room, transfiguring a nearby glass into a pair of jean pants. Emma noticed that, for he first time, it was something snug instead of slightly baggy. She couldn't help but smile when her woman of a daughter pulled on her jeans that showed off her figure. She didn't know who was luckier, Harry or Hermione.

Hermione turned to face them. "Now, why did you enter without our permis—" But she stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed a plain brown package on the counter on the box. Caution overcame her curiosity as she lifted her wand to the box.

"Revelio," she commanded in a firm tone. The package started changing a multitude of colors, until finally settling on pink. "Mum, dad," Hermione asked, panic rising to her voice, "where did that come from?"

"It was tied to that owl's leg," Emma explained. "Pig," Dan snickered at the name while she ignored him, "was carrying it with one leg. We were here and let it in when it kept running into your window. The poor fella flew all the way from…you know, you never told me where this 'Burrow' is."

"I never knew," Hermione said absently as she was cautiously stepping towards the mysteriously wrapped gift. "I always used the Knight Bus or apparated. One time I used a portkey. I told you about those, right?" They nodded. "And I doubt you know where Ottery St. Catchpole is."

"We don't if it's a magical place," Emma said as she steeped closer to her daughter, who absently handed over Pigwideon, who was hooting happily in her hand the whole time. "Hermione…is something in there…dangerous?" She whispered the last word.

But Dan heard. He ran over to Hermione, who instantly raised a hand to stop him proceeding any further. "Hermione, if something in there's dangerous, then it's my job to—"

"Dad, if there's a curse on that package it is  _ not _ your job. I can protect myself." She stopped a yard away from the package. "And I never said that it was dangerous, but I'm not going to take any chances. _ Locomotor _ package."

The plain brown package lifted up and over to the sink. "Have you two touched it?"

"Yes, when we moved it," Emma said, backing up a little. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, since you can touch it, I'm going to open it and see what it is. I don't know what's in it, though. I've never seen a pink reaction before." She slowly approached the package and picked it up. She eyed it for a long moment, as if she had a magical eye. She then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Is it a warming charm?" She muttered to herself. "Then what were the other colors?" She tentatively grabbed a fold of the brown wrapping and ripped it. Several tears later, she was looking at a plain white box. Her parents surrounded the box as Hermione slowly lifted the cover to reveal…

"Chocolates, dear?" Emma asked in an amused tone while her husband burst out laughing. "We had to do an 'Indiana Jones' on a box of chocolates?"

Hermione could actually feel her face burn at the embarrassing paranoia. "Sorry. You get really paranoid over a year's time." She reached out to touch the chocolates. "I know, that was really stupid, and I—"

She stopped when she felt one of the chocolates. Something was wrong.

"It's not warm," she whispered. "Then what was the charm on them?"

"Is the warming charm in the filling?" Dan asked, his eyes lighting up like a child being told Christmas had come.

"Oh, honestly, Dan, aren't you a dentist?" Emma teased.

Hermione frowned at the lump of chocolate in her hand and squeezed it between her thumb and index, waiting for the gel-like filling to come out.

Instead, a pink liquid-like substance dropped from her fingers freely, nothing like the creamy substance that she always saw in muggle chocolates.

"What is that?" Emma asked, looking at the pink substance in a mix of curiosity and disgust.

"I'm not eating that," Dan said.

"It's Harry's, dad."

"How do you know?"

"It's on the card." Hermione picked up a card that was on the underside of the cover with her clean hand. It was to Harry, from Ginny. Hermione narrowed her eyes in suspicion. It couldn't be…

"Could it?"

"Could what, dear?" Emma asked as she picked up a chocolate and unwrapped it. "Two worded sentences, Hermione? I believe we've been gone far too long, and you've been away from school far too long." She lifted the chocolate and prepared to take a dainty bite.

" _Accio_!"

Emma didn't know what her daughter just said, and thought she would ask after she took a bite. Imagine her shock when she ended up biting her fingers. "Ouch!"

"What just happened, Hermione?" Dan asked in alarm as he looked over at his wife, then calming down when he saw her rubbing her thumb, no visible marks on her fingers but tooth impressions.

"I summoned the chocolate from you, mum. I'm sorry, but chocolates from Harry's ex-girlfriend is something that I have to check."

"Say no more, sweetie," Emma assured her as she put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "That just spells out 'disaster'. Never leave your ex's gifts unchecked."

Hermione scanned the chocolates again. Again, a spectrum shone before her, before pink showed for a few seconds, before turning back into its original white.

"No…Ginny couldn't have…she wouldn't have…"

"Dear, what is it?" Emma asked in alarm.

"I-I'm not saying anything for sure," Hermione said, shaking her head frantically, "because I don't want to jump to any conclusions."

"Is it safe to eat, Hermione?" Dan asked sternly.

"I don't think so," Hermione muttered, "I really don't think so."

"What will you say to Harry, dear?" Emma asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I could throw the chocolates away and say that I ate them, but I don't want Harry to be mad at me and lose his trust…again."

Emma nodded. She knew Hermione was referring to the Half-Blood Prince's book. "Why don't you tell him the truth…whatever it is?"

"Because I don't want to jump to any conclusions!" Hermione whispered frantically. "You don't know how protective Harry is of the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley is a mother to him and Ron is the brother he never had."

"But we are talking about Ginny," Emma retorted. "This is between you and her, not the rest of the family."

"But that was Ron's owl," Hermione countered. "Ginny has her own owl. That must mean…"

Before she could finish, They heard a bone-breaking crack.

"He's awake," Hermione whispered hurriedly as she put the cover back on the chocolate and magically wrapped the box again. "What am I going to do?" She quickly washed her hands of the sticky residue.

Emma decided to take charge. "Ask him if you could read the letter. We'll take care of the rest."

She wasn't given time to argue, as Harry had chosen that moment to step through the door. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said as his eyes adjusted to the light. "Morning, love," He said as he saw her by the sink. "You okay?" She looked rather clammy and disturbed.

Hermione did not speak for a moment, so Mrs. Granger came to her rescue. "Good Morning, Harry. Hermione doesn't feel well. We think it's because of the chocolate she ate."

"Chocolate?" Harry asked quickly, then turned to the box, which was wrapped.

"We think it's a tummy ache," Dan said, "She rarely eats chocolates."

Hermione gave a small snort. Her parents would, of course, lie that a piece of chocolate could give you a stomach virus. After all, when she was three, she was told that her teeth would fall out if she ate so much as an M&M.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, getting closer to inspect her face.

"Oh, she's perfectly alright," Dan said. "She just has a small tummy-ache. It'll disappear in a few minutes. Let's get her to a chair."

After they fake tended to Hermione, she deemed herself well after forty minutes. She missed being cared for by her parents, and if they were honest, they missed looking after their little girl.

Harry came to the conclusion that the chocolate had spoiled, so he took the package and threw it away. He noticed that Hermione seemed more relieved to be rid of it, but he realized that he would have been too if the chocolate had made him sick to his stomach.

Emma, wanting to get the day started so she can talk to her daughter, told them all of her plans. Harry reluctantly agreed, wary of his girlfriend's father, who was an expert at using drills. Just not the drills that Harry thought.

* * *

** Author's Note: ** Dedicated to my Dad, who succumbed to cancer on July 2, 2010. He always encouraged me to write. If he hadn't, I would've left this hobby of writing long ago. Thanks.


	13. The Girl Who Prefers . . .

When the elder Grangers dropped the young couple off at their hotel suite, gave them their number, and hugged them fiercely, they departed, but not before whispering words in both Harry's and Hermione's ears.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione said to her suspiciously red boyfriend.

"N-nothing. Do you still want to leave tonight?"

Hermione knew that her parents probably said something to Harry, but she knew she most likely would not want to know. "Well, since I know where my parents are, and since they are staying, I guess we could leave."

"Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.

"Harry... I understand that they will be pretty mad at us, especially Mrs. Weasley, but - "

"It's not Mrs. Weasley who I'm worried about." He interrupted in a soft, but hearable voice.

"Then, who is it?" Hermione asked as she led Harry to the bed and they sat down, her head on his shoulder. Harry instinctively put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"It's... Ron." Harry said after a moment. "I know I can tell you now. Do you remember when Ron saved my life?"

"Yes, of course I remember. I can surely remember the blows I threw at him."

This caused a small smile to flit across his face before falling again. "Well, Ron didn't tell you the whole story."

"I suspected that. Ron was trembling a bit before you told me the end. Or was it really the end?"

"Well," he sighed, "when I opened the locket, Tom Riddle's original eye was seen and Voldemort's voice came out. He said some things to Ron."

"Like what?" She asked curiously. Now that she knew that Ron was still alive, she didn't have a reason to be scared.

"I can never forget what he said." Harry took a deep breath, repeating the voice that was far from fading in his mind. "I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All that you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible." He took another deep, steadying breath and continued. "Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter. Least loved now, by the girl... " He took an even deeper breath as he said, "By the girl who prefers... me."

Hermione gasped. She knew it must have been something bad for Ron to shake like that, but had no idea that it was about her. She suddenly felt sad that she was angry at Ron for coming back, and she was truly happy when Ron was gone after a long while.

Harry sighed. "That's not the worst of it," he said grimly. "Then, a giant picture of you and me showed up above the locket. They were taunting him, saying that he would never amount to the Boy-Who-Lived, that Mrs. Weasley would trade me for him any day, that we were happy when he left us and... that Harry Potter would always take everything... " He looked over to Hermione, who had her hand over her mouth, "and everyone that he ever loved. And then... they kissed."

Hermione felt a tear form in her eye. She knew that Ron was jealous of Harry's fame, but she didn't know how jealous he truly was. She did love Ron... but only as a friend. According to the story Harry just told her, she doesn't think that Ron would ever understand that.

She admitted that she used to fancy Ron a little, but it was never near love. She knew that she could never love Ron more than friends. It was only Harry for her. She prayed that Ron would understand, though, and hopefully, he would move on.

"That was when Ron destroyed the Horcrux." Harry said, interrupting Hermione's thoughts. "His eyes flashed red at that moment. I don't know how he did that. At first, I thought he was going to turn the sword on me."

Hermione put her arms around Harry and hugged him. "What should we do?"

"Well, I lied and told him that I loved you as a friend and that you loved me as a friend. What do I say, now?"

"Well, you could fix everything that Voldemort said, except us, of course. I am madly in love with you, Harry Potter, and I've stuck with you for seven years; I'm not letting Ron split us up." She said with a bright smile. That warmed Harry's heart. If he really did have a choice, he would choose Hermione over Ron. She never gave up on him... not including sixth year. "Yeah. I'm not letting Ron get between us, or anything for that matter."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Do I really do that much to Ron, though? For me to make him that jealous?"

"Well, you have money and fame. He's wanted to play Quidditch all of his life, but you became the youngest Seeker in a century, and became one of the most famous Quidditch players in the world before you were halfway done with school. And you didn't even know about Quidditch, while that's the only book Ron's ever read. Mrs. Weasley does - well, did - think of you as a son. I am, indeed, in love with you and only think of Ron as a friend... when he's not ignorant. So, yes, I guess you do make Ron jealous a little." Hermione finished with a sad smile.

"Well, I'll start with the obvious - Mrs. Weasley will never want me as a son again when we see her. I gave him the best broom in the world. He's getting an Order of Merlin, along with the rest of the Weasleys. They're pretty famous from what happened three weeks ago. Is there anything else?" Harry asked.

"Well, I think that's it." Hermione said, counting it off in her head. "Should we just stay there for a few minutes, then leave?"

Harry was about to respond when a realization struck him. "Hermione... my parents hid in a small cottage, right?"

"Yes." Hermione said slowly, wondering why Harry changed the conversation. She was cleared up when Harry said, "Well, my dad is a pureblood, right? Does that mean they had a mansion or ancestral home, and left it for the cottage?"

Hermione smiled and nodded against his shoulder. The Potter family was rich, after all. They must've had a bigger house, or as Harry said, a mansion. "It's very possible. You could ask Professor McGonagall when we visit."

"About that, Hermione. I think I can up my skills a bit, don't you think? Even though Voldemort's dead, I could use another year of... well, training, right?"

"Harry... are you saying... " Harry nodded. Hermione hugged him even more and kissed him repeatedly.

When she pulled back she asked, "What made you change your mind about returning?"

"You're a war hero of the world. I can't let you get all of the attention," Harry said, grinning like mad from her kisses. "Besides, I have six years of not listening to make up to you. I can survive one more year at Hogwarts, don't you think?"

"Seeing as you survived everything else, it just might be possible." Hermione grinned and kissed Harry once more.

"Harry, do you think you could teach me how to do wandless magic?" She asked after they broke apart.

"Well, I'll try. We'll have plenty of time at school, and a bit of time before it starts," He replied as he pointed his wand at the open trunk. "I realized why I did that 'Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo' spell and it worked. I don't think it's a real spell. I think I was just... " He flicked his wand upwards and all of his and Hermione's clothes made a floating double-file line, "... thinking it."

Hermione looked on in amazement. Ever since the Horcrux was destroyed inside of him, his mind became clearer, and he was able to concentrate better, being able to do amazingly powerful magic. 'Soon,' Hermione surmised, 'he'll learn more spells than me.' She couldn't tell if she was upset or pleased about this thought.

"Hermione," Harry asked, "do you think my wandless magic has anything to do with me being the Elder Wand master?"

"Well, that probably has something to do with it. But at the Malfoy Manor and Hogwarts, Draco was still his weak self." Hermione smiled.

Harry smiled, too. As he finished bringing in everything from the bathrooms and other rooms, he spoke again. "Hermione, when you broke up with Ron, how did he take it?"

Hermione swallowed. She knew it was only a matter of time before he asked. "Well, Ron took it badly... very badly. When he asked why, I told him that it would never work in the long-term, but he didn't seem to care. He just said we could date until it started to work out. Then, I told him that I wouldn't be happy, but we could still be friends. Then he grumbled something and stomped away. I think he said something about 'one way or another'. I still wonder if it's a threat."

Harry was nodding through the entire story, feeling more ashamed about himself. "Should we even  _ tell _ the Weasleys?"

"We should definitely tell them, because they might find out. It would be pretty bad if someone else told us because he or she saw us slip up, and we might get ambushed by them."

"I have an idea. I'll explain when we leave. Do you want to get some sleep, first?"

Hermione gave a small yawn and said, "I admit, I'm pretty tired, but I do want to go back to London."

"Let's go then. We need to pay at the front desk." He smiled and pulled out his wallet and looked to see a muggle credit card. Hermione took on a curious look at the platinum-colored card. "Did you ask for a muggle card, Harry?"

"Yeah. It would look suspicious if I only carried cash." Harry said as he put the wallet back in his pocket, card in hand. He grabbed the suitcase and Hermione's hand as they both strode outside of the suite.

"I wanted to go in the Jacuzzi with you, but I forgot." Harry grinned.

"Don't worry, honey. There may be plenty more times." Hermione said as she wrapped her arms around Harry's, absently thinking about the private Heads' Bathroom.

They went to the front desk and paid for their suite. The manager at the hotel just happened to be a man named Tom, Harry absently noted. They slowly walked out of the office and down the street. Harry was about to pull out the broom before he stopped.

"'Mione?"

She giggled for a reason he didn't understand, but he still loved the sound of that giggle, so it didn't bother him. "Yes, Harry?"

"How far can House-elves apparrate?"

"They can apparrate anywhere in the world that they want... " She started in her teaching voice, but stopped. "Oh," she said. She then started whispering angrily to herself. "Why didn't I think of that before? I mean, we never even had to go on the plane!"

"Calm down, love," Harry said, enjoying her blushing at the nickname, "I'm not sure about you, but I'm not complaining at all about the plane ride."

Hermione looked up at him and smiled slightly. "I guess for the first time, I'm happy about not thinking it through, then."

Harry grinned and put up a silencing charm around them. "Kreacher!" he called out.

In a manner of seconds, the old, no-longer-grumpy house-elf popped in with a loud crack that wasn't heard, thanks to the silencing charm. "What can Kreacher do for yous, Master Harry Potter?"

"Hello, Kreacher, how've you been?"

"Kreacher is fine, now that Dark Lord is gone." He said emotionlessly, though Harry could see the happiness in his once dull eyes.

"Think you can take us to the Weasleys?" He asked politely, and got an equally polite bow in return. Kreacher wordlessly slipped between Harry and Hermione and grabbed their intertwined hands.

The black abyss, familiar with apparition, came immediately.


	14. Sibling Rivalry

"Harry! Hermione!"

Ron and Ginny opened the door to see them and ran to them. Ron put Hermione into a crushing hug, as Ginny hugged Harry. When they pulled back, they switched. When they broke apart, they lead Harry and Hermione back to the Burrow. They made sure not to hold hands. George walked up to them and hugged them, but ran off, telling them that he had to check up on his invention before it explodes. The first question that they received was if they found their parents.

"Yes, we did, but they wanted to stay in Australia." Hermione replied. Part of her wanted to say that Harry found them first, but didn't want to look suspicious.

"I found them first!" Harry teased triumphantly. At first, Hermione felt saddened by him rubbing it in her face, but realized that it was all a part of their plan. He was teasing her like when they were only friends. However, she was quite sure that Harry wouldn't have said that, together or not.

Ginny gasped. "Harry, your scar's almost gone!" Ron looked at it and his eyes widened. "Whoa! How did that happen?"

"Magic. It's just a regular scar, now." They looked at his forehead silently for a few seconds, as if looking at a large and colorful mural dedicated to Merlin.

Ron then looked away and asked, "Well, what you get us?"

"We'll give you the gifts and answer more questions when we're done packing." Hermione said, sliding the purse down her arm. She turned it into a green suit case, and Harry started lugging the suitcase upstairs.

They all followed Harry through the hallway, and Ginny asked, "Why aren't you using magic?"

"So I can get stronger," He grunted from the weight. "I think magic is making me lazier," He joked. "I think using less magic will be good for me."

Ron paled. "I don't know how you do it. Who could go without using magic?"

"I went without magic for ten years, Hermione for eleven. I didn't say that I'm not going to use magic anymore. I'm going to have to, won't I?"

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

Harry ran a hand through his messy hair for a few minutes while still lugging the suitcase through the second set of stairs. "I'm going back to Hogwarts," He finally said.

Ron paled even more. Why would Harry want to go back to Hogwarts? Whatever the case, if he already told Hermione about this, she would undoubtedly have no more doubts about returning. They would have a whole year together, alone. Hermione probably asked Harry to come to Hogwarts, so she would be alone with him. Ron started thinking if he himself wanted to go back to school, if he would still have a chance with Hermione. He wouldn't do that. Why would he want to go back to school to get hassled by her to take his NEWTS? If Hermione kept making him study and learn and all of that nonsense, he didn't think it was worth it. He would wait until they were out of Hogwarts. Maybe Hermione would know by then, that she only had a crush on Harry, but she loved Ron. Otherwise, he'll just have to go back to drastic measures.

"You're going back?" Ginny asked, perplexed. "Why?"

Harry waited until they got off the stairs and in the hallway to speak. "I just want a care-free year there, for once. The Dark Tosser's dead, and I no longer have a 'wanted' label on my head. I'm pretty sure that Hogwarts will be open again. I'm going to do this year right."

"Good luck with that." Ron scoffed. "I know Hermione's going, and she'll be dogging you all year. Probably a lot more, since you got NEWTS this year. I'm certainly not going."

Harry only smiled as he unzipped the bag a little. "I've survived everything else. I'm sure the NEWTS won't kill me."

"But Hermione will if you fail." Ginny said as Harry pulled out a small bag. Hermione playfully scowled for a moment at her, but then grinned, and finally yawned. "I don't think I have the energy to unpack. I think I'm going to do that in the morning." She said. "Good night, Harry. Night, Ron. Come on Ginny, I'll try to tell you all that I can before I knock out." she then left the room with Ginny following, with an unfathomable expression on her face. Hermione didn't plan on sleeping or unpacking at all. She had to get this out of the way first, and she could pretty much predict the outcome.

Harry looked up and said, "Night, Hermione, night Ginny," with Ron following a second later, not looking up at all. He seemed to be deep in thought about something. It was a very alien look for him. Harry took out a small plastic bag and placed an engorgio charm on the bag, making it the size of a fairly large garbage bag, and opened it. He placed the bag on the floor for Ron to see and zipped back up the suitcase. If Ron had been paying more attention it would seem obvious that Harry had no intention to unpack.

Ron finally looked into the bag to see a bunch of stuff. It must have been the souvenirs that they brought back. Ron was amazed at the muggle items inside of the bag. He saw a bunch of pots and pans, probably for his mum, a weird looking hat and a pair dark tinted glasses, a big recipe book of Australian foods, and some tee shirts and other clothes. He also saw a refrigerator magnet that said, 'I wen to Australia and all I got was this stupid magnet.' Ron didn't understand the joke. The magnet clearly wasn't the only thing that Harry bought.

When Ron was done probing the bag, Harry decided that he should continue his plan. He took a few deep and quiet breaths.

"So, Ron... what's been happening while we were gone?"

"Huh... oh, what?" Ron finally said after looking up. "Um... nothing much. The Death Eater trials are almost done. They gave a few people the Kiss, including Rodolfus Lestrange, Dolohov, and Nott." Harry absently thought, 'I'll make sure to tell Hermione about Dolohov' while Ron continued. "They put the rest of the inner circle – the ones with the dark mark – through the veil, since they killed a lot of people 'cause they wanted to. You-Know-Who put the mark on those who likes to kill and does it a lot, and those who followed him without question, not out of fear, but because they wanted to be powerful.

"Anyway, I know you'll be happy about this: Umbridge and everyone just as bad at her in the ministry was sentenced to life in Azkaban and Stan is back on the Knight Bus."

"Serves her right," Harry said with a small grin.

"Yeah, she did. I wish I was a dementor right now..." Ron had a dreamy expression on his face that rivalled Luna's. Ron quickly snapped of it and grinned. He continued, "They hadn't found the Ferret Family yet. They must be hiding at a really good place. Goyle Sr., Jr., and Crabbe's dad was sent to Azkaban. Goyle was making a bloody fuss about it, saying that his son will avenge him, but that can't happen, can it?" Ron smirked. Harry was about to tell him why he was smirking about a dead man, even if he tried to kill them. He shouldn't have been grinning about that moment. He decided against it, seeing that he didn't want to to have two rows with Ron on the same night.

"They gave every other Death Eater at the battle a trial," Ron said, "and this time they used Veritaserum. Apparently they grew a brain since the last time. Everyone who was guilty got life in the cell, and there were some people who had a guilty conscience, so they were given a few weeks so they wouldn't feel like they couldn't live without 'punishment for their past crimes'." Ron snorted. "Bloody idiots if you ask me.

As you saw before you left, Diagon Alley was mostly fixed. People are still dancing around like idiots, but not as many as the first weeks."

Harry nodded.

"Ron... I have something that I want to tell you. Can I see your wand for a moment?" Ron gave Harry a dumbfounded and curious look, but shrugged and pulled the wand out of his pocket. He handed it to Harry who put it in his pocket, the same side that his blackthorn wand was on.

"There are some things that I need to... to talk to you about." Harry said, sitting up and casually sliding out the phoenix feather wand from the holster without Ron seeing it. "About what happened in the forest... when we destroyed that Horcrux." Ron showed a flash of sadness on his face before it went back to normal. He nodded for Harry to continue.

"I just want you to know, that I made up almost everything that Riddle said, because I know it is still disturbing you." Harry took a deep breath, and continued. "Mrs. Weasley and I aren't on good terms, and we probably never will be, so she'll never want me to be her son." Ron nodded at this, curious to where this was going. "I think that you may be jealous about me being good at Quidditch and my more expensive brooms, so I bought you one." He pointed at the red broom resting in the corner. It looked like it was used recently, and looked like it was in the middle of being polished.

"You're going to get some Orders of Merlin, soon, so you might be richer than me." Harry continued. Ron smirked, but felt a little regret. "You're a war hero, now, so you'll be famous." Harry slowly said, knowing that he ran out of things to say. He had to tell him, now.

Ron grinned happily, thinking that he had the best friend in the world and stood up. "Mate, you didn't have to do all of that. I'm really sorry for being a prat. I know that you deserve it, seeing that you lived with the Dursleys."

He was about to walk over to him to hug him, but Harry put up is hand, indicating that he wasn't finished. "There are some things that I couldn't and won't fix, though." Harry said sadly. Ron was once more curious and his bright smile was brought to a slight frown. There was nothing else that Voldemort talked about except Hermione, and Harry explained that already. Unless...

"Remember when I told you that I loved Hermione like a sister?" Harry asked, sneaking under Ron's slowly dropping arms and walked over to Ron's bed, knowing that Ron can't be too close to him. Ron might try to kill him. "I, err, lied. I, well, I really did love her... more than a friend. But I had to abandon that completely when I found out that you loved her, too."

Ron's eyes widened in shock. Harry loved her? Ron only thought that Harry used to fancy her a little. So his long-term plan... didn't work? He immediately hoped that Hermione didn't know and never will know. Not like Hermione would ever be with her. The love that he made for her was strong enough to last years. He would never let Hermione be with Harry! She would never be happy with Harry, even though he is rich. After all, he will be rich in a few weeks. Besides, Hermione would never do that to Ginny, anyway.

"And then," Harry continued, putting his hand on the three wands in his pocket, but not so Ron could see. "I told Hermione... in Australia... and... well... she said she loved me, too." Harry stammered as he watched and waited intently for Ron's reaction. Ron stepped back a little, his eyes staring in disbelief. She lovedhim back? It couldn't have happened. How could Hermione have broken the love between him and her? He had many feelings inside of him, turning from one to another rapidly: hopelessness... despair... sadness... misery ... rejection ... jealousy... and the feeling all melded into one single feeling... pure rage. Not even treacle tart could bring Hermione back to her senses if she was in love. Two wasted years... no wonder Hermione lasted so long away from him; she was in bloody love!

Harry saw his reaction. He saw his ears turn red brightly, and gulped. He wasn't afraid of Ron—he could take the temperamental redhead easily—but he didn't want to lose his first and best friend. He didn't want to continue, but knew Ron had to know this. "She said... that she would always love you as a friend, but nothing more. So, now... we're together. Please, tell me... are you okay with it?" Harry asked, a little hesitant. He prayed that Ron would say 'I'm not okay with it, but we've been through too much to let a girl get between us.' He would still choose Hermione over Ron, but he still didn't like the idea of choosing.

Ron's eyes narrowed dangerously. He started breathing heavily. He felt like he was betrayed even more by the fact that he bloody well wasn't okay with it. He also felt... murderous. He ran up to Harry, ready to choke him, but Harry took out all three wands from his pocket and pointed it a Ron's chest, stopping him. "Ron," Harry started, backing up a bit, "I'm asking you if you're okay with it."

Ron looked at him as though he was the daftest person that he ever wanted to kill. "No, I'm not!" He said in a growl, finally getting his voice back. "Break up with her. Now. In fact, I'll do it for you." He ran towards the door, but when he reached it, a flash went past him and hit the door. The knob went missing, along with the hole it was supposed to be in. Ron looked back at Harry, ready to die trying to kill him.

"Ron, I'm not going to break up with Hermione. And I pray that she doesn't break up with me. I just wanted to ask if you were okay with it. But since you're not, there's nothing I can do about it. Even if I did break up with her, she made it clear that she would never love you more than a friend. I thought we could still be friends, though." He sadly tossed Ron his wand as a 'we mean no harm' gesture. He still couldn't believe, that after everything they've been through, after all that Harry's done for him, Ron would destroy their friendship because Harry was now with their best friend, who didn't even like Ron back.

He placed the two wands back into his pocket. He still had no intention on hurting Ron physically, even though he would be emotionally wounded. He silently summoned his suit case to him and transfigured it into a brown leather watch and placed it on his wrist. The watch wasn't working, but it was still a good disguise.

He didn't notice Ron slowly raise his wand, as he was still hooking his watch. "I don't think we're welcome here anymore, so I'll just—"

" _Diffindo_!"

Harry looked up to see a jet of red light coming straight at him, and quickly moved out of the way. The spell blasted a watermelon-sized hole in the wall. The cool night air came in, but Ron was still burning with anger. Harry finished snapping the watch into place calmly, obviously expecting this from the redhead that was quickly losing 'friend' status, then looked up at Ron.

"Hermione can stay." Ron growled, angrier than Harry had ever seen him. "If we continued dating, Hermione would have grown to love me. But you always take everything that I have!"

"I wouldn't call Hermione a thing, Ron. She's a girl, not a possession. And she broke up with you. I had nothing to do with her breaking up with you, except for the fact that she told me that she loved me since fourth year and never stopped loving me. And even if you two were still together, you can grow to love someone if you're already in love, but it won't be the same. Hermione would never be happy with you, because she loves me. I love her, too, which is one of the reasons I wasn't happy with Ginny," Harry said, pulling out his wand. He didn't notice his back-up wand fall out of his pocket.

He took a step forward, only to see Ron stand back in front of the door.

"Ron, I don't want to hurt you!" Harry yelled. "I just want to leave!"

"No one's stopping you!" Ron growled again, his breathing hard but his voice full of venom.

"With  _ Hermione _ !"

"That's  _ not _ going to happen!"

Harry sighed. "What makes you think that Hermione would fall for you again instead of look for me when I leave?"

Ron smirked. "I'm going to tell her that you left because you treasured our friendship more. You think that she and I belong together, and you shouldn't get in the way of that. How does that sound? If not, I have other ways."

Harry couldn't believe that this was coming from his best friend. Ron looked like he would kill Harry just to be with Hermione. Harry formed a grin of his own. "The only way that would work is if I leave. But you're going to have to either let Hermione come with me or kill me. You could kill me right now, but you'll follow soon after when Hermione finds out."

Ron's eyes narrowed into slits. Before Ron could answer, Harry asked, "Why don't we let Hermione choose?"

"No. I already know who she's going to choose."

"Exactly! She chose me! Why can't you be happy for us?"

"You expect me to be happy for you, you wanker?" Ron asked, raising his wand again.

"Well, aren't you? You're supposed to be happy for me! You're my best mate!"

Ron was shaking with rage. Ron's wand sparked, his ears turned alarmingly red, and he angrily stormed, "Best friends don't steal their best friend's girlfriend. I've gone this far, and I'm not going to stop now! _ SECTUMSEMPRA _ !"

Harry saw the white slash slowly coming his way, as if time slowed down. He couldn't believe that Ron was aiming to kill him. He jumped out of the way, but the curse cut through his shirt. He knew that it was time to go on the defensive and a little bit of offense, now that Ron's ferocity was at his fullest. He pulled out his phoenix wand and silently threw an ' _ Expeliarmus _ ' at him, along with a ' _ Diffindo _ '. Ron jumped away, and in midair, loudly casted a " _ REDUCTO _ !" Harry gaped at it for a moment. That is an extremely dangerous and deadly spell. He easily rolled away, and decided that it was time to go to the more harmful spells.

He sent a powerful ' _ Reducto _ ' back to Ron, who gaped at it also for a second before putting a shield up. The shield exploded in contact before blasting back to the door. Harry quickly shot a spell at the doorknob to make it reappear, hoping that it would have Ron knocked out.

But, Ron's really as hardheaded as he lets on and immediately stood up after his head hit the door. He stood up and lunged towards Harry as he said " _ CRUC _ —"

" _EXPELIARMUS_!" Harry shouted at the same time, finally saying a verbal spell. A bright red beam shot back out at Ron and the wand blasted out of his hand onto the floor, almost through the hole in the wall. Ron was sent flying backwards.

As he flew through mid-air, the door crashed open, with Hermione and Ginny, wands at the ready. Hermione didn't take the time to look, but aimed a spell at Ron, whose back was heading towards her.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ " she quickly chanted. Ron felt rigid when he roughly hit the ground, and he couldn't move. He watched in horror and disgust as Hermione ran up to Harry and hugged him, while Ginny followed to check if he was okay. They sat Harry down on the half of the bed that was still intact. They looked at the giant hole in the wall and the ruins that surrounded it. Hermione could see the magnet that she bought for Ron in at least four pieces. She angrily looked at Ron, her eyes in flames.

"Did you do this?" She asked as she took the curse off of him.

Ron sat up and grinned. "Impressed?"

Hermione's eyes widened. Ron was really aiming to kill. "I would if you weren't about to kill someone with it, especially Harry!"

Ginny walked up to her brother and slapped him—hard. "What the hell is wrong with you? I don't care who stole who from whom, you don't try to kill him! And Harry didn't even steal Hermione from you, anyway. She was single!"

"But I was going to get back together with her," Ron said angrily, rubbing the sore spot on his cheeks.

"And I would've said no!" Hermione screamed. She pointed her wand at the wall and placed  _ Reparo _ charms around the place. She was fuming. Just because she was happy with Harry, Ron tries to kill him?

Harry walked over to her and put his arms around her when she put her wand down. "I'm alright... I'm not hurt, at least."

"That doesn't make it alright." Hermione said, turning to Harry. "I guess we will have to leave, then?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley would be even angrier."

"About what, dearies?" They all turned to see Mrs. Weasley, who was smiling at them hesitantly. For some reason, her smile didn't really seem... Molly-like. It just had an fierce edge to it. "Hello, Harry, Hermione. From what I have heard, are you two... a couple?" Harry and Hermione nodded, dumbfounded. Mrs. Weasley should have came up a while ago, after the curses and hexes and yelling, and wondered if she cared anymore, as if she still hadn't gotten over Harry breaking up with Ginny and Hermione breaking up with Ron. What would've made more sense, Harry thought, was that she was still in deep sorrow over Fred's death.

They saw a flash of sadness cross her face, then anger, replaced by a bright smile. "You two made it just in time for dinner. I will have to change the living arrangements later."

"No, thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Harry replied politely. "I don't think Ron wants us here. I think we should leave."

"Nonsense!" She quickly said. "Ron may not want you here, but the rest of the family does."

"We really don't want to intrude, Mrs. Weasley—"

"You won't be intruding, dearies."

"But Ron's trying to kill me!"

"You bet your arse I am!"

"Ron, hush! Ron will not harm anyone in this house, now let's go downstairs to eat. I saved you and Hermione some treacle tart."

"Can we just take some to go?"

"You can just eat a little here."

"...why do you want us to eat here so badly, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Because you are dreadfully skinny!" Mrs. Weasley said, a little irritated that they would keep questioning her.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at her mother. "Mum... are you sure that's the only reason?"

Mrs. Weasley paled a bit. "Well... of course, Ginny." She said, not looking at her daughter.

"Mum," Ron said, "It's no use... they're immune... "

Ginny raised her eyebrows and looked at Harry and Hermione, their eyebrows also raised. "Mum, what is Ron talking about?"

"Well... Ronald must have a, um, slight concussion at the moment... I'm sure he'll be fine—"

"I've heard enough, mum." Ginny said, exasperated. She ran by her mother and ran down the stairs. She quickly followed.

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron suspiciously, now. Harry slowly came to a conclusion.

"What did she do to the treacle tart?"

"I'll tell you if you break up with Hermi—"

"How about—" He picked up his phoenix wand and pointed it at Ron, who was still sitting down, "—I'll hex you if you don't tell me."

"I'm not going to tell you." Ron declared, as if the entire thing was pointless and they should all just drop it.

"Are you sure? You know, I know a lot of nasty curses. I'm sure Hermione would help, too."

"Gladly," She said as she pulled out her own wand and pointed it at Ron. "At least he won't like me anymore."

"You can cluck on and on about something that I will never care about and hex me to oblivion, and I'll still love you."

"And that's the problem!" Harry yelled. "You never listen to her. Why do you deserve her love?"

"And after what you tried to do to Harry, why should I even think of you as a friend?"

"Because he stole you from me!" He said, as if that explained everything.

"I was never your girlfriend! It was one kiss and it was rather disgusting. Keep your tongue for yourself, for once. And Harry told me about what happened in the forest—"

"YOU WHAT?"

"—and it seems to me," Hermione continued, as if she hadn't been interrupted, "that you are jealous of everything that Harry has. I think that the only reason that you love me is because I love Harry."

Harry's eyes widened. It would make perfect sense. "Is... is that it, Ron?"

Ron stubbornly stayed silent.

"What the hell is your problem?" Hermione angrily yelled, walking back to Ron and grabbed him by his collar, effortlessly picking him up. Her anger with him easily outweighed how her muscles were straining at the moment.

Ron took on a dreamy expressions he looked up at Hermione. The slowly reddening face... the way her bushy hair seemed to float a little, making her look like a fiery angel... the pretty gleam in her hard, brown eyes... he leaned in.

And she punched him. Hard.

She made a sound of disgust, thankful for her quick reflex. He had moved forward and she did what came naturally. Harry noticed only a a second later, and it didn't take him long to guess what Ron was thinking. So he gave a reflex of his own.

He kicked him. Hard.

Down there.

"What is wrong with you!" Hermione yelled at him.

"Harry! Hermione!"

They all turned to see Ginny, panting from running up and down the stairs.

"There's... there's a love potion in the tart!

"What happened to him?" Ginny asked as she finally saw Ron crouched up and slowly crawling away from them.

Harry and Hermione didn't pay attention, as they were in shock. Molly Weasley... the only person who has ever treated Harry like a son... the one who made Hermione a surrogate daughter... had spiked their treacle tart, and probably had been for a while, with love potion. Now they knew why treacle tart was their favorite food.

Mrs. Weasley ran up behind Ginny. "That's preposterous! I never put a love potion in there!"

Gunny turned to her mother. "I asked George to use a detection charm, and there is definitely a potion in the mix. I'm sure it was—"

But she was cut off by Ron, who had crawled over to Harry's backup wand and pointed it at her, still wincing as his groin was still in pain. "SHUT UP, GINNY, SHUT UP! STUPEFY!"

Ginny quickly took out her wand and put up a shield. She had enough of Ron and his tantrum. A huge bright yellow jet of light burst from her wand and headed straight for Ron, who didn't have time to even move to escape.

It was a gruesome sight, yet you couldn't look away; the jet hit Ron fully in the face. At first, there was nothing. Ron aimed at Ginny again, trying to hit her before the spell activated. Suddenly, Ron dropped his wand and grabbed his nose, which looked to be... growing? He screamed and rolled over, as his nose kept enlarging. Something yellow and slimy slid out of Ron's nose, and as it fell, it sprouted wings and flew around Ron's face, waiting for its friends, who were rapidly coming out of his nose, causing Ron to scream in agony. They all flew around Ron, who was crawling back into a corner, nose bleeding, cowering in fear as he knew what was going to happen next.

The yellow bats grew feet with claws and flew to Ron. He was about to cover his face, but was hit from the side and was stuck rigid once again. He turned his eyeballs to see Hermione smirking, her wand aimed straight at him. He was in too much pain to feel sad that Hermione betrayed him, because the bats had reached his face. They clawed at his face and the others watched in both fascination and horror. After a full minute, Mrs. Weasley finally gained her courage and grabbed Ginny's wand, making the bats turn back into bogies, thus ending Ron's torture.

"Ginny, are you out of your mind?" She screamed. "I am trying to help you and Ron!"

"Ron and I don't need any help, mum!" Ginny yelled back, staring her cold in the face. If anyone could take 's stare, it was her own daughter, who inherited it.

"Of course you do! It's obvious that you love Harry and that Ron loves Hermione—"

"I don't love Harry anymore, mum! I already have a boyfriend!"

"Harry is better for you!" She screamed.

This time, Harry interrupted. "So, you mean that you're making me be with Ginny against my will, and Hermione with Ron against her will?"

Mrs. Weasley's face softened a bit as she looked back at Harry. "You and Hermione will learn to love them, since that was ruined before."

"No we won't!" Harry yelled. "We love each other, and will never love anyone else more than friends!"

"Why do you think I have the potion? To help speed things along, of course!" This time, she yelled.

Ginny looked at Harry and Hermione. "See? I told you! I bet a thousand galleons that Harry only liked me over a year ago because of the potion. That's also probably the reason Hermione started looking at Ron."

Harry's eyes widened. He suddenly realized what he really liked about Ginny. He smelled it in the Potions dungeon.

"Ginny... your... your perfume... "

"What about it? I hadn't used it in a while."

"Essence of love potion?" Hermione slowly came to the same conclusion.

Ginny's eyes widened this time. She slowly turned her head towards her mother, who looked terrified, afraid that they were about to find out her secret. "That was the only reason Harry noticed me, wasn't it? Mum... I can't believe you." She broke in a whisper, tears clinging onto her eyes.

"Ginny," Harry said as he and Hermione walked over to each side of Ginny, Harry's back to Mrs. Weasley, "I don't think that the love potion made me like you. After all, it wasn't love, was it? I do think you're attractive, and I was a bit jealous of you kissing Dean, but it disappeared sometime along the way." Harry hoped that he said something comforting instead of insulting. Ginny smiled a little, and Harry took that as a good sign.

"I know why, too." They all turned to see George in the doorway, a small frown on his face as he saw his unconscious little brother and his livid mother. "I knew that when someone is jealous of someone being in love with someone else instead of you, that person uses love potion.

"The only problem was that drinking the potion when you are already in love makes you only 'fancy' someone. You never loved Ginny, you liked her. Hermione never loved Ron. She liked him. Did you think a lot about Ginny over the year, Harry?"

"Yeah." Harry immediately answered.

George turned to Ginny, who was a little confused about the explanation. "Where was your perfume all year?"

"I gave it to Ron before he left. He said it would be a present for Hermione."

"I didn't receive anything from him," Hermione said, somewhat baffled.

George smiled a triumphant smile. "Then I know what happened. That perfume is a one of a kind perfume, brewed by mum, only for Ginny. It's called 'Amorcia', I believe."

"Can I explain the rest, dear brother?" The voice of another Weasley came from the hallway.

"Sure, Perce." George grinned.

The third eldest Weasley son strolled into the room. "I was listening the entire time. Those extendable ears—work of a pure genius. It is my opinion that since the perfume is one of a kind, and only Ginny wears it, it would be her distinct, custom smell. When you smell that perfume, who is the first person that you think about? Ginny, right? Well, to brew a love potion, one has to either mix a hair or saliva or any type of sample from the person that is to be loved, or... something of theirs that only they would own, something that they were especially known for. Something that would make them apart from everyone else."

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny's eyes all widened at once. They were all in silence for a moment.

Finally, Ginny spoke with a dark voice. "Ron... where is my perfume?"

But Ron couldn't speak, as he was still unconscious.

Ginny growled and snatched the wand from her mother, who was making whimpering sounds. She stomped over to Ron and angrily chanted "Ennervate!"

Ron was shocked awake and instantly sat up, but Ginny put the wand on his throat, forcing him to lie back down. She said in a cold and murderous voice, "Where is my perfume?"

Ron stammered at first. They must have found out. "I-I ran ou-out o-of it."

George, Ginny, Percy, Harry, and Hermione looked at both the youngest son and their back-stabbing mother in disgust.

Harry came to another thought. "So that's why I wasn't thinking about Ginny as much when Ron left?"

Percy nodded as George answered. "Yes. I don't think little Ronniekins knows how to brew a love potion, so I think mum brewed it and gave a large supply to him before you guys left. If you add the perfume or Ron's hair to the potion during your quest, and sneak them in the drinks, you won't taste the difference. Mum and Ron had you two all along. I'm sorry, Harry, Hermione, Ginny. I wish I could have found out sooner. Fred and I had to get our cunning and trickery from someone, I guess. Now that I think about it, I wonder if she used it on dad."

Harry looked at Ron, who had a tear in his eye. Ginny moved the wand from his throat and stood to full height. "I don't want to be here anymore. We're going to Grimmauld Place." She said softly. She placed the wand back in her pocket and walked towards George and Percy. Harry and Hermione then looked at a crying Mrs. Weasley. They nodded and walked to George as well.

"Well, goodbye, so-called mother!" George said cheerfully. Ginny, Hermione and Harry were about to follow, but Mrs. Weasley stopped them. "Wait!" She yelled, a little maniacal, "At least think about it! You liked Ginny, didn't you? Why not give it another chance?"

"I don't like Harry like that anymore!" Ginny yelled. "Why can't I get that into your abnormally thick skull!"

"Don't talk to me like that, Ginevra!"

"I don't care what way I talk to you anymore!" A tear formed in her eye. "I should have you arrested. Love potion use is ILLEGAL!" She yelled, and then her voice softened to a whisper, but the hardness in her voice . "But I can't. The Dementors won't have a soul to suck. So, goodbye, mother. I never want to see you again." She turned and left without another word, but before she was out of sight, she turned back towards Hermione with an apologetic look.

Harry summoned his back-up wand from Ron's grasp and put it in his pocket. With his favorite wand in one hand, and Hermione's hand in the other, they strode towards the door, but was stopped by an angry Mrs. Weasley once again.

"I will not let you go!" she yelled. "You two are my children's only hope for the future! You'll thank me one day!"

"NO WE WON'T!" Harry and Hermione yelled at the same time, enraged. Harry tried to control his breathing, and spoke next. "Mrs. Weasley... thank you for everything you've done for me so far. Even if it was all to get me to be closer to Ginny, and Hermione closer to Ron. But you can't control my future. I'm done doing what's expected of me to do any more. No one is ever going to treat me like a puppet anymore. I choose who I love and want to love. Not you."

Hermione looked up and smiled brilliantly at Harry. He was becoming very mature to stand up to Mrs. Weasley's wrath. They went into the hallway and was about to reach the stairs, when a red jet of light went past their heads, zooming into the kitchen. Harry and Hermione turned to see a fuming Mrs. Weasley, who looked more like Bellatrix at the moment.

They immediately took out their wands and pointed them at Mrs. Weasley, their hands still clasped. "Why can't you leave Harry and me alone?" She cried. "We're just trying to leave!"

"I won't let you." She said calmly. "You still broke my youngest son's heart, and even though she hasn't accepted it yet, you broke my daughter's heart also. I can't let you get away with that. So what was it? I know that you have a lot of money, Harry. Is that why you left my son, Hermione? Because he was poor? We'll be getting an Order of Merlin soon, so you could go back to him."

Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Why can't anyone believe that I love Harry because of him? I'm not in love with Harry's money! I'm not in love with his titles! And I'm definitely not in love with how many bloody times Harry almost died in his life trying to escape mortal Peril! I... love... Harry." She slowly spoke, as if speaking to a very small child. "You were like a mother to us. You were the only one Harry could think of as a mum."

"Apparently, he doesn't want me as a real mother!"

She then started blasting a flurry of colors at them. Faster than Hermione had ever seen, Harry quickly put up a shield and started throwing curses back at her. He knew that she was powerful, after seeing her kill Bellatrix. She was excellent at nonverbal spells, and she was fierce when protecting her children. One wrong move, and the couple might die. Molly may have been angry, but Harry looked like he was aiming for the kill also. You could see the magic growing around him, the sparks from his wand as he kept blasting curse after curse. Hermione looked at Harry for a split second and almost audibly gasped. Harry's eyes were slowly turning from green to a bright red.

The walls cracked from the intensity of the hexes and curses. Hermione was growing weak from the spells she was casting at her. She was very powerful. Harry, on the other hand, looked like he was holding his ground. He was casting very powerful hexes, curses that Hermione had never seen before from him. Most of the hexes were nonverbal. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was weakening from the shield that was blocking his hexes. It started flickering as her legs gave away, as she kneeled down, but still threw curses at them.

Harry was about to throw a very powerful curse at her, wanting to end it, but suddenly, the shield fell and she slumped forward on the floor. She was breathing very heavily, so she was still alive. Harry and Hermione looked curiously at each other, his red eyes slowly turning back to normal. Usually, a shield breaks when a spell hits it. It doesn't just weaken out and vanish.

They decided silently that they shouldn't worry about it, she deserved it, and that they should go before she or Ron wakes up. They quickly ran downstairs and ran outside. Harry instantly thought of Sirius's house, before turning on the spot just outside of the boundaries, holding Hermione's hand.


	15. Reflections

“Where were you two?” George asked them the second the slightly tired but couple walked in through the front door.

“Molly attacked us.” Harry said grimly.

George, Ginny, and Percy gasped.

“She shot at us just like when she killed Bellatrix. I think she was aiming to kill.” Hermione said, catching her breath.

Harry pulled her closer to him and looked at the Weasleys. “Thank you, guys.” He said sincerely.

“No problem.” George said sadly, trying to get over the fact that Harry and Hermione were attacked by his own mother. “It’s the least we could do after all the stuff you did for us.”

“I still can’t believe that Ron and Mum would do something like that! It’s so…Slytherin!” Ginny exclaimed, pacing around the living room of Grimmauld Place.

Unfortunately, her outburst created another outburst. “ YOU DARE ENTER THE ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK?! YOU BLOOD TRAITORS!!! FILTHY SCUM LOVERS!!! ”

They all groaned and Harry had already run upstairs to the old hag in the portrait. “Hey, Mrs. Black! Did you know I killed Voldemort?”

DISGUSTING MUD—WHAT?!

“Yeah, it’s true,” Harry casually said as they all reached the stairs and looked at Harry talk to the portrait, smirking. “He never stood a chance, really. Once again, he tried the killing curse on me and it deflected back on him. But this time…he won’t come back. We made sure of that, didn’t we dear?”

Hermione smiled. She walked over to Harry and smiled at the portrait. “Yes, we definitely made sure of that. Voldemort will never be alive again. Harry killed him just three and a half weeks ago.”

George and Ginny saw that they were taunting her and joined in the fun. George started. “There was a huge battle at Hogwarts. Our crazy mum killed your crazy niece, Bella!”

“And your other niece, Cissy, is on the run for the rest of her life.” Ginny said.

“Also,” Harry continued, “Narcissa saved my life. Without her, Voldemort would be alive and killing muggles and muggleborns.”

Mrs. Black was so still from shock and mortification, she could pass for a muggle portrait. Harry walked up to the curtain and pulled it over the portrait. She let him without a fight.

“So,” Harry continued, “do you think Ron or Mrs. Weasley would ever forgive us?”

George laughed. “I doubt it. I think we should stay here until we find somewhere to live in that mum doesn’t know about. You guys should sleep with one eye open, and put as many charms and shields around the room as you can.”

"We already put charms around the house," Hermione said.

“So…did you find your parents?” Percy asked, and Harry was a bit surprised; this is the first time he’s ever heard Percy in a concerned tone.

“Yes.” Hermione answered.

“Where are they, then?” George asked.

“They decided that they should stay. Sort of like a vacation.” Harry answered.

“It's safer there anyway," Hermione said. "Now that we know their address, we can place them in the floo connection.”

They nodded and bid them good night, relieved that Hermione had found her parents, but sad that they hadn't had a proper welcome party.

Harry and Hermione went back downstairs and sat on the sofa. “Do you think Ron will ever…you know…forgive me?” Harry asked sadly.

“Harry,” Hermione started quietly, “ we should be the one forgiving  him , if we ever do.”

“I know…it’s just that…I kept reassuring him in the forest that I loved you like a sister. He looked so happy when I told him that.”

“That’s because he knew that I liked you. He just wanted to get one thing that Harry Potter didn’t have.”

“Or,” Harry surmised nervously, “he really did love you.”

“I guess he’s going to have to learn how to move on.” Hermione replied as she wrapped her arms around Harry, as if to show that she’s not going anywhere, and didn’t need to think about it. Harry smiled, even when he didn’t want to. He just said that he would choose Hermione over his best friend, but he still wished he could have chosen both. He put his arm around Hermione, and they each enjoyed being wrapped in each other’s arms. After a few minutes of watching the fire in the fireplace that one of the Weasleys lit before they arrived, Hermione spoke again.

“The plan would’ve gone with ease if it weren’t for Ron trying to kill you.”

Harry sighed. “Probably.”

Harry and Hermione were walking down the street, looking for a place to dissapparate. Harry started telling Hermione his plan.

“Here’s what I think we should do. Stop me if you don’t think it would work. We go into the house and act completely normal, like we’re only friends. When they ask about three questions, we’ll go upstairs and claim that we’re tired. Naturally, Ginny will follow you, and I go to Ron’s room with Ron following. You say that you want to pack in the morning because you’re too tired. You ask for Ginny’s wand. We explain the entire…situation, you could call it. I’m very sure that Ron would be mad at me, and I’m not sure about Ginny’s reaction, but we should ask them if they’re okay with it.

“If, by some miracle, they both say yes, we’ll explain that Mrs. Weasley probably doesn’t want us around anymore, so we’ll be at Grimmauld Place until we can find another place, one that she doesn’t know about. If Ron is mad at me…then…er…I won’t give his wand back. If I see signs of him getting mad, I’ll keep it until we get to Grimmauld Place and owl it to him, if I ever get a new one. How does that sound?”

Hermione nodded the entire time in surprise. That was a simple plan, and well thought out. “It’s a very good idea.” She said. “It might work. But what if Ron goes…nutters?”

Harry chuckled a little. “I hope not. I hope he doesn’t forget the wand and punch me in the nose.”

“Maybe I should’ve kept the wand.” Harry said absently. “He looked to be in too much shock when I told him. I thought he wouldn’t explode until we left.”

“Harry, we didn’t know he was going to act like that.” Hermione said as she started to rub his arm. “I only expected a lot of yelling and a possible fist being thrown.”

“I think I did expect him to attack me, but not with deadly curses like that. He pretty much saw his own boggart, though. Oh, how was Ginny’s reaction?” He asked, realizing that he was so caught up in Ron’s response, he didn’t know about Ginny’s.

“Well, she was a little dismayed by the fact that it only took a little more than two weeks for us to get together.” Hermione started. “I didn’t dare tell her that it was when we were on the plane there. She was a little mad because she thought that you dumped her for me. She said that she was the better girl for you. She is prettier, likes Quidditch more, doesn’t hassle you about tests, and would rather kiss you than hang out in the library.” She finished while looking down at the fire, overcome with sadness. Everything that Ginny said was true, she thought. “But I would definitely prefer to kiss you than read, Harry.” She quickly added after she looked up to see a frown on his face.

But that was only partly why Harry was frowning. “I can’t believe her…She said all that?” Harry whispered, enraged.

“Well, it wasn’t like she was telling a lie…I mean, I know you’re probably going to say that I’m prettier than her, but I do make you study a lot about tests, but only so you and Ron could pass. And she likes Quidditch a lot more than me. She’s better at flying, she knows how to play Quidditch, and besides you, she’s the best Seeker at Hogwarts.”

“Well, do you think I care if you don’t like Quidditch that much? I don’t even think I want a girlfriend who plays Quidditch.”

“What?” Hermione whispered in shock. She thought that since his two past girlfriends were Quidditch players, you could only assume that he liked girls who played Quidditch.

“Well, when I play Quidditch, I always get a painful memory from almost every game. Do you really think I would like to see my girlfriend in the Hospital Wing after every match, bleeding or missing the bones in an arm…or worse? I would like a girlfriend who isn’t afraid of heights, and knows how to control a flying broom…” he kissed her forehead, “like you. As for the ‘making me study’ part, if it weren’t for you, I would be returning to school for fourth year. You taught me pretty much everything that I know. And when I called you the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, do you think I excluded Ginny?”

Hermione turned an alarming shade of red. “Well, you’ve never seen Ginny naked…have you?” She nervously asked.

“No, I haven’t.” Harry said reassuringly. “All I saw of her being naked is her belly button, which I’ve never even touched. Besides, I reckon you would still look better than her, unless she’s been wearing extra-tight bras and got a tan. I also love a woman who congratulates their friends for being with someone than get jealous about it. I’m pretty sure that I made the right decision, don’t you?”

Hermione chuckled and hugged him. “Yes, Harry, I think you did. And I definitely made the right decision, too.”

“If Hermione says it, you know it’s true.” He said to himself, making it loud enough for Hermione to hear. She placed her head on his shoulder and both stared at the fire for a few moments.

“Should we go to Gringotts soon?” Harry broke the silence in a low whisper, just in case Hermione was sleeping.

“Yes, but I think we should relax a bit, first.” Hermione said as she yawned. After she moved her hand from her mouth from stifling the yawn, she continued. “You could ask about the Potter estate. I’m sure that there is one. Have you seen the Potter Crest, yet?”

“No. Whenever I read about my parents, it only tells about how I got famous. Whatever little there was about them was that dad was a Chaser in Quidditch, while my mum was Head Girl. I think there might be more about them in the mansion…if it hasn’t been destroyed or if there ever was one.”

Hermione silently agreed. She also hoped that if Harry had a mansion, it wasn’t burned down by Death Eaters shortly after Voldemort’s first fall, or while looking for the Potters.

“Hermione…if I wasn’t spiked with love potion…would I have asked you out or something a lot sooner?” Harry asked.

“Well, it depends. When did you first like me?”

“I started thinking of you as more than a friend in third year. And I think I would have asked you out then, except for one thing.”

“Ron?”

Harry sighed. “Yeah. I kept trying to think who I would choose. Ron’s friendship, or a possible relationship with you. I had no doubt, back then, that Ron would always be my best friend, but I didn’t know if you liked me. If I asked you out, and you said no, and Ron found out, he wouldn’t talk to me. Back then, we weren’t as close friends, so I was afraid that we wouldn’t be as close anymore.”

Hermione was listening intently to Harry, but her mind kept wandering, wishing that she could have thought of a few more hexes for Ron. “So the only thing that kept us from being together was Ron?”

“Pretty much. I realized my true feelings when we went to the Department of Mysteries. When you were hit by Dolohov, I realized that it wasn’t a crush…anymore. I knew then that I couldn’t live without you. That was when I fell in love with you. When you were in the hospital wing, I had some time to think. I decided that since Ron was my best mate, and I loved someone that he has never even been nice to, but supposedly fancied, shouldn’t he be at least a little happy? And I knew that we were very close, then, me and you, so if I asked you if you liked me, I knew you would’ve been truthful, and nothing would’ve changed, if not for the better. At least, that was my original plan.”

“Harry…you loved me since fifth year? Why didn’t you ever ask me if I liked you?” Hermione softly asked, on the verge of tears.

“Well, there were a lot of obstacles. My Godfather just died and I had to go back to hell for the summer. Thank Merlin I didn’t stay the whole summer, though. I was a bit afraid of what your reaction was going to be when I told you two about the Prophesy. Then, when I got the Quidditch badge, Ron was around me the whole time, talking strategy for the games and begging for the Keeper position. I may have chosen you over Ron’s friendship, but I didn’t want to ask you out in front of him.”

He paused and looked in her teary eyes, silently asking if that made any sense. She nodded in understanding, waiting for him to continue. “Then, when we got back to Hogwarts, I think we started distancing a little. I guess that was when the love potion was being used, or it was the book. Right now, I would say that I’m really sorry about the book, but Ron’s life  _ was _ saved because of it.

I know how you like to be good in every class, but I also thought that you were a bit stubborn for not hearing me out when I explained about the book. I thought that was how you would always be in the future, and it didn’t look very appealing then. Looking back on that now, I realized that it was the love potion that brought you closer to Ron, distancing yourself away from me. Now, I realized that I should have told you what was in the book. We could have been working together with it, it wasn’t really dangerous. But the potion made me stubborn towards you, too.”

Hermione nodded at Harry’s explanation and held him tighter to herself. She did seem a bit stubborn all of last year. Suddenly, she came to another realization.

“Harry, when did you first think that you liked Ginny, or her perfume?”

Harry instantly replied, “In the Potions classroom. I smelled three things; A Broomstick, Treacle tart, and that perfume. I first started liking Ginny when we caught her in the closet with Dean.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully as she absently said with little surprise, “I first realized that I liked Ron a little when I saw him attack Lavender. I think that’s why he did it in the middle of the Common Room, so I would be sure to see it.”

Harry nodded. “If I remember, Ron was the one leading to the corridors and stood aside as I opened the tapestry, making sure that I saw them. Do you think Ron had a jealousy potion for that part?”

Hermione had more tears in her eyes, and Harry brushed them off of her cheeks with his knuckles. She could not begin to feel the anger or express the pain that Ron had caused to her. She could have found happiness with Harry since fourth year if Ron hadn’t screwed with them. She also felt a little sorry for herself. If she had taken the hints that Harry had liked her before then, she would’ve confronted him a lot sooner. She definitely would have rejected Viktor if she had found out that Cho had rejected Harry.

Meanwhile Harry had relatively the same thoughts. To tell himself the truth, he had a ‘strange thing’, as he called it back then, for Hermione in third year. When he finally thought about forgiving Hermione when she went behind his back and told Professor McGonagall that he had been sent the anonymous Firebolt (from Sirius), he realized that she was only thinking about his safety. He knew back then that she was more important than any broomstick to him, but if Ron had shut his mouth, he would’ve apologized to her, and they would’ve been the best of friends again. Probably more…

“Hermione,” Harry broke the silence.

“Yes?”

“Should we be worried about Ginny?”

“Well…I think we should put some protections around the room, just in case. I would say that she’s fairly mad at me.”

They sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the flames and hearing nothing but the small pops and crackling of the everlasting logs. They both stood up and placed a few shields and charms around the house, since the Fidelius charm was broken. Harry placed a strong ‘ Silencio ’ around Mrs. Black’s Portrait, in case she had another tantrum in the middle of the night. They both slept in Sirius’s room that night, getting the sleep that they desperately needed.

As they both slept in the same bed, wrapped around one another in comfort, the pair had the same thought together.

“Ron’s a git.”


	16. A Few Things to Discuss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we're past that whole self-deprecating phase. I cleaned this chapter up a bit. I'm really starting to like this story again, and I hope you feel the same.

The next morning, Harry found himself practicing spells with Hermione. She showed him a wide variety of fascinating spells, and Harry showed her quite a few as well. They practiced with each other, dueling. Harry was obviously the stronger, but Hermione knew many more spells. Harry would let her win on occasion, and sometimes, Hermione took the victory on her own with her vast knowledge of jinxes and counter-jinxes. Sometimes, George, Ginny and Percy watched the duel in fascination. Not only could they tell that they were extremely powerful for their age, but they guessed that the couple was holding back. As a week and a half passed by, Harry and Hermione knew about the same number of spells, to Hermione's fascination. Harry's mind was a lot clearer, now. He was able to learn spells with ease as he watched Hermione say the enchantment and do the wand movements, and no matter if he just learned them yet, was using the spells with amazing power and accuracy.

Harry started reading books with Hermione when they were in the Library, causing Hermione to check his head for a fever. Harry laughed and sheepishly admitted that he does read a little in his spare time, but the only reason he practically never went to the library at Hogwarts was because Hermione was always there, which Ron would've been jealous of. If Harry sat a distance from Hermione, then that would raise suspicion of why Harry wasn't sitting with his best friend. If he  _ did _ sit with her, then there would be a chance for them to grow closer together and Ron wouldn't have liked that. When she asked why Harry had kept asking her to check over his homework, Harry grinned.

"Hermione, when was the last time you criticized me for not doing my assignment right?"

Hermione started slowly, "Well... there was that time when... " she stopped, trying to think of an answer.

"I do remember one time in fifth year when I made a typo, but you said otherwise that it was perfect. I thought that you would catch on that I was only doing that for appearance. Love, how do you think Ron would've felt if I read books a lot, got better grades than him, and basically, become more compatible to you?"

Hermione thought about what he said for a few minutes. She was deeply lost in thought until she had another question. "You could have had better grades?"

Harry looked up from the book and smiled. "Some of my grades could've been better, I admit, but I kept them high enough to pass."

Hermione walked over behind him and hugged his back. "It was all in vain, too."

Harry sighed. "It was. But, do you regret it now?"

Hermione snorted cutely. "Of course not. I'll always wonder what life would be like if you had done so, but we can't change the past... well, too far into the past, anyway. But when we're in Hogwarts, I expect competition, Potter."

Harry grinned. "I may have somehow evolved into much more than I was weeks ago, but I doubt I'll be able to topple the brightest witch of our generation."

But it would be close.

About a week later, they appeared at Gringotts again. Griphook proceeded to explain to Harry that his parents did indeed have a mansion, and Professor McGonagall had the deed to it. When Griphook finally noticed that Harry and Hermione were holding hands, he smiled a toothy smile. He didn't particularly like humans, but it seemed to him that he would enjoy associating himself with an entire family name in time.

Griphook also told them that the vault had been moved to 713. Harry grinned again, unnoticed by Hermione. They left Gringotts and a few seconds later, they were in Hogsmeade. The village still looked pretty rundown, like it was a ghost town, but a shop or two was still open. The Hog's Head and The Three Broomsticks were up and running, with quite a few people at The Three Broomsticks, and as expected, only Aberforth was inside of the shop, not bothering to clean the very dirty and smelly shop.

They waved at both of the owners, Aberforth and Madame Rosmerta, and Rosmerta waved cheerfully, but couldn't greet them properly, as she had customers. Aberforth only looked up, grunted a hello, and went back to drinking his Firewhiskey. Before his lips touched the bottle, however, Harry could have sworn that he saw a ghost of a smile.

The couple walked up the path to Hogwarts, wondering if the place had been repaired, as almost half of the castle was demolished by that battle.

When they reach the gates, they saw the four heads of houses casting spells across the fully built castle. They watched them for a moment. It looked as if the school hadn't even been touched by Death Eaters. They sneaked past them, not wanting to disturb their work, and went into the castle to look for the headmistress. They found her in one of the corridors, talking to the portraits.

"Make sure that all secret passages to the school are sealed." She sternly and urgently whispered to the moving pictures. "If I stumble upon  _ one _ passageway - "

"Minerva, we've been looking around for a week!" One of the portraits said, exasperated.

"Do you need something to eat?"

"You know that isn't possible, but - "

"Then I don't see any reason why you should not be looking around." McGonagall said, as if finishing the conversation. Apparently, it did, as the people in the portraits started trudging along out of the portraits.

Harry and Hermione chose this chance to turn into the hallway to reveal themselves. The headmistress turned to see them when she heard footsteps. Her wand almost slipped out of her grasp when she saw the couple.

"M-Mr. Potter... Miss Granger - " She stopped abruptly and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What special act did you perform which made me put you onto the Quidditch team?"

"When I caught Neville's Remembrall." Harry easily said, knowing that he was tested to see if he was the real Harry.

Professor McGonagall walked up to them and hugged each one of them with a smile on her face, something she had never done before to them. When she pulled back, she saw the extremely shocked faces of the pair. This caused her to smirk. "You're like a son to me, Harry. Who else could do the job at Hogwarts?"

Harry smiled at her, thinking of how loudly she screamed when she thought he was dead and how much she cared. "Thanks, Professor," He said, his voice full of sincerity.

"You can call me Minerva, now, Harry, Hermione. You're not at Hogwarts anymore."

"Well, we wanted to talk to you about that... Minerva," Hermione awkwardly mumbled. "We have quite a few things that we would like to discuss with you. Firstly, we want to return for another year, if we're allowed."

McGonagall smiled even wider. "Actually, a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws have informed me that they want to return, also. I couldn't say no. I would want a carefree year, also. You two and Ron deserve a carefree year, most of all."

"I don't think Ron is returning." Harry murmured.

The professor showed no look of surprise. "I expected him to not return. Now, shall I tell you the roles that you two will play as you return for your final year?" When they both nodded, she gestured for them to follow her to her office. After a moment of walking, she spoke again. "This may not come as a surprise to you, but I ask of you to be Head Boy and Head Girl."

Hermione smiled brilliantly at McGonagall's off-handed announcement. She was almost positive that she would be Head Girl, and secretly had no doubt in her mind that Harry would become Head Boy if he returned.

Harry laughed a little. "After all the mayhem that I caused every single year, after all of the rules that I've broken, I'm Head Boy? I know I've saved the Hogwarts time and time again, but - "

"You must not worry about that, Mr. Potter. If you did not have too much on your hands years ago, you would have become Prefect, and most certainly be Head Boy by all rights today. Your recent actions have nothing to do with you getting this position, although it has increased your maturity greatly. Your father would be proud that you never acted like him in his younger years, your mother doubly so. You have been chosen for your leadership and bravery. Dumbledore's Army was proof of that. You two have been chosen for this position for quite some time, I might add. And you did say that Ronald Weasley was not returning, correct? I am sure you will not cause... as much... trouble this year. And with certain obstacles out of the way, you may actually enjoy this year."

Harry and Hermione chuckled. They would be sharing the Head Boy and Girl's tower together. Alone. It would be a nice last year.

"I hope you will not cause any trouble at all, though," she continued, "and prevent others from causing it. First and Second years will be looking to you for guidance. You are to award points or take them away. You are to assign posts for Prefects. You are to change the password to the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room every few weeks, and don't forget to post them. You are to report those who are threatening others or calling them names, such as the offensive term for muggleborns, a rule that we added recently. You are to break up fights and duels in the hallway. You are to report those who openly support the man formerly known as Voldemort." The couple's eyes widened; they had never heard the Professor call Tom by his nickname.

"I know you want to, so I will allow you to do this. If you hear someone call Voldemort by his name, you are allowed to award that person five points, but only that first time. Our former Headmaster told me that some students may try to make a song out of his name, so every student would receive a hundred points for singing it." Harry and Hermione laughed - that is what the old Headmaster would say.

When the pair stopped laughing, Professor McGonagall continued. "Mr. Potter, if you accept the job as Head Boy - "

"I accept." Harry politely interrupted.

"I need to warn you that you may not have time to hold Quidditch practices. You cannot keep the position of Quidditch Captain, and I'm not sure if you can keep the position of Seeker. Are you sure that you want to take the position of Head Boy?"

"Yes." Harry answered almost immediately. He had spoken with Hermione, and she agreed with gusto, much earlier that he didn't want to end up in the Hospital Wing this year, and was sure to have a nice, long visit there if he faced the Slytherin team. He could practically see those Bludgers aiming for him unmercifully, putting Dobby to shame.

McGonagall stopped and turned around in surprise. She noticed that Harry didn't even think about the question, and saw the pair holding hands. She then smiled while they blushed, noticing her gaze. Apparently, there  _ were _ things that he loved more than Quidditch.

"Very well," she said, turning back to walk. "Since you have taken the position of Head Boy, and Ronald Weasley will not be attending, I will be sending the Quidditch Captain's Badge to Miss Weasley. I am sure that she will still be attending, correct?"

They nodded.

"Also... I'm not sure how to ask this from students, but this is my first year being the Headmistress of Hogwarts. Since you two could be called as Dumbledore's apprentices all around the school, I hesitate to ask if you had any advice to change this school for the better."

Harry and Hermione was a little shocked at this request. They thought about this for a few seconds. They knew of a bunch of changes, but now that they were under the spotlight, they had to recollect their thoughts. Hermione, of course, spoke up first. "Professor, I would like to talk about a few classes and the education status."

"Such as, Miss Granger?"

"Well... I would like to start with Muggle Studies. I think that the next teacher of the class should be a Muggleborn, muggle-raised, or a half-blood. I know I shouldn't say anything about our departed Professor Burbage, so I'm not going to.

"My second suggestion is about Professor Binns' teaching method. Not many people can stay awake in his class, not even  _ me _ sometimes. He is very informative, but he reads by the book, word-by-word, And most people tend to... well, doze off. I recommend that he explain more about the Wizarding World History in his own words instead."

Professor McGonagall was nodding thoughtfully while her favorite female student was speaking. She waited a moment to see if Hermione was done, and said "You raise some very interesting points, Miss Granger. I will see what I can do. I should release Professor Binns and find a new Muggle Studies teacher. I will find a muggle-born or someone very acquainted with muggle living. Mr. Potter?"

"Well, I have nothing to add except for a competent Defense professor who can teach for more than one year. I heard Voldemort put a curse on the school when he hid the Horcrux here when looking for the job."

The stern professor stopped and quickly paled as she turned to the couple. "Did you just say, 'Horcrux', Mr. Potter?"

Harry grinned; this was the same reaction he received from Griphook. "Yes, professor; Tom had seven, which is why we left school. We had to destroy them, first."

The couple watched in amusement as all color drained from her face, before a spark of anger showed as she turned around and started walking at a slightly faster pace.

She decided to drop the conversation of Horcruxes for a moment to answer his previous concern. She said in an almost calm voice, "I am almost positive that there is a curse for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but no one is sure what curse it is. Hopefully the curse has been removed the moment of Voldemort's death. However, we will not know until the first of September next year. I have quite a few teachers to replace, but thankfully we have an extended break. It is now only the beginning of June."

Harry waited a few seconds, seriously considering his options here. "Professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"In a few years, I want to try out that jinx."

"Well, we certainly know that you can do the impossible, but I know you realize that every professor who tried to take on the curse has either ended up dying, possessed, unfit for the job, or not being the person we selected at all. We will perform monthly tests on each teacher, to see if they are fulfilling their job as teaching, much like the High Inquisitor  _ tried _ to do. If anything happens to the professor that we choose this year, then we would give you the job next year."

By this time, they were walking past the Great Hall. Harry could still hear the distant screams, hundreds of people laughing and chanting the sick curse over and over again...

Hermione's hand squeeze brought him out of his thoughts. Apparently, she noticed where his thoughts led.

"Now, Mr. Potter," McGonagall continued, "I have another request for you. Our Headmaster's portrait told me that you have the power to repair the Sorting Hat. I thought this very unlikely, since it has permanent burn marks. But I think you should try anyways."

It took a moment for Harry to realize how he was going to repair the hat. Then he realized - The Elder Wand.

"Professor, I can help, but I need my wand. I put it in Dumbledore's tomb - "

"And he asked me to remove it," McGonagall interrupted as she pulled out the wand and handed it to Harry. Harry felt the wand with trembling fingers. He felt the magic deep inside of the wand, slowly seeping into his skin. His adrenaline rush didn't notice it the last time, but now that he was relaxed, he felt the magic of the wand and him slowly getting more powerful.

He was the true master of the Elder Wand.

Harry wasn't particularly power-hungry, he never was, but he felt a sort of an attachment to the wand; like he was always meant to hold it. His holly wand was always dear to him, but this wand - his wand - gave him a comfort that he couldn't describe.

He had found himself in the past days much more powerful, and that was plenty enough for him, but... he found that he rather liked holding onto the Wand of Destiny.

Or he could give it to Hermione. God knows the accomplishments she could get done with her magic. He was far beyond impressed when she showed him the limit of her skills at Grimmauld Place, and he felt she could do much more than he ever could.

Harry's free hand swept over the cool elder wood as the trio silently marched up to the gargoyle, who wordlessly marched aside. They made short work of the spiral staircase, Hermione tugging on Harry's hand to warn him not to trip.

Harry grinned and finally looked up from his hard-won prize. "I've been up these stairs so many times, I could run up them blind."

"I'd rather you not, as these stairs are made of cement." McGonagall's mouth quirked at the banter between the two, until she opened the door to her office.

She turned to her right and was face-to-face with the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.

" _Horcruxes_ , Albus? Explain. **_Now_**."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note to self: Start posting stories with shorter chapters, or at least an embarrassingly long one-shot. It takes less time to update that way. While Deathly Hallows: Take Two is far and beyond my most ambitious project, I find it nice to return to a story with such a basic storyline. I needed that right now.
> 
> As you've probably noticed, I've completely revamped my website. Thank you very much for supporting me by visiting here, and I hope you'll explore the site more. Lots of hidden gems around here. Or so I've heard.
> 
> A nice story image/book cover is appreciated, if anyone wants to volunteer. Because the story just looks tacky without one. Now that I've been adding them, I just can't seem to stop.
> 
> Please review.


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